


blushing!

by sarcasticpotato1823



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Asdfghjkl, But aren't we all, Chaos, Dream is touch starved, Fluff, I can't write dialogue, I still have no idea how tags work, Ice Skating, M/M, No Beta, Poor Sapnap, Ranboo my beloved, SIKE, Slightly suggestive, Supportive Sapnap, They're In Love Your Honor, all my fav mcyts in a cabin, angst maybe i dunno, bunch of gay panic, but nothing beyond that, callahan is done with life, cause its more fun to write, chaos and cuddling, christmas time woohoo, dream and geroge are both oblivious gays who are just so confused, enjoy my messy editing, enjoy the half-assed editing i did at 1 am, everyones good at faking being asleep, everyones stuck together for 2 weeks yay, first time writing in a while be nice pls, gay panic attacks, george do be freaking out in a bathtub, george dont know her either, george had a dream, george likes listening to dream talk, he can blackmail people wow, how do tags work, i dunno, i know a lot of characters, i wrote this at 1 am, if it isn't clear, im making tommy more annoying, im writing this chapter by chapter, much more karlnap than i thought, only reason its teens up is cause george swears as he thinks, or more accurately bi panic, perhaps some background skephalo and karlnap, plot planning who, skiing time wooooo, sleep? whos she, sry not sry, stabby shoes, tags will change, their friends dont know that they're dating, they actually kiss, they kiss, they're really such idiots, this is definitely a slow burn, title is my current fav song, tommy is a special child, we love this chaotic family, welcome to chaos world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasticpotato1823/pseuds/sarcasticpotato1823
Summary: George, Dream, and 16 others are stuck at a ski resort in a cabin for 2 weeks. This gives George lots of time to spend with his best friends and the rest of his chaotic family. One problem. Dream. This is his first time spending time with him face to face and Geroge has to deal with his ever-growing feelings for him.I wrote this at 1 am. I'm sorry. Idk what I'm doing. I haven't written in forever, but here's a mess, enjoy!
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 307
Kudos: 343





	1. the chaos house

**Author's Note:**

> I-
> 
> So basically Dream, George and 16 other mcyts are at a ski resort in a cabin. George in love with Dream. You get the gist. Also, it's Christmas time. The title of the work is a song by BETWEEN FRIENDS.

_23rd of December_

George hadn’t ever felt this sense of calm or happiness in who knows how long. Cozied up in a beanbag by the fireplace, with a cup of hot chocolate, feeling cliche as hell, a smile grew across his face and he let himself fully relax.

The little cabin was close to bursting. Wilbur, Niki, and Tubbo were baking cookies in the kitchen whilst Tommy hovered around them, insisting he was helping. Philza and Techoblade watched on from the dining table, laughing as Wilbur grabbed his water glass and emptied its contents onto Tommy’s head. 

Fundy, Quackity, Karl, and Sapnap were situated on the floor in the living room, having a heated game of monopoly, which had resulted in various objects being thrown around, a round of truth or dare, a lot of swearing, a game of tag, and, somehow, a knitting class taught by Karl. 

Skeppy, Bad, and Callahan were playing Mario Kart or, well...they were trying to. The game was currently paused. Callahan was on the floor lying on his stomach, wearing an ugly Christmas sweater that Skeppy had somehow stuffed him into along with the look of someone who was done with life. That may or may not have any correlation to the fact the Bad and Skeppy were in a heated argument about...well, George had no idea but he heard the word mac'n'cheese being thrown around.

Dream, Antfrost, Eret, and Alyssa were all out grocery shopping, as 18 people went through food at a shocking rate. They were also getting various other Christmas decorations as of Sapnap’s order. What could possibly make a snowy log cabin on a ski resort mountainside look any more Christmassy was beyond George but Sapnap had been very insistent. George had a bad feeling about it for some reason…

Speaking of the cabin, George had no idea how they had been able to get this place, it was truly amazing. With a massive kitchen, dining room, living room, 6 bathrooms, and 10 bedrooms, they had really hit the jackpot. ‘Course some people had to share rooms. Tommy and Tubbo had a shared room with two twin beds and it was easily the messiest room in the house. Alyssa and Niki were sharing the loft room that they had won through a messy snowball fight. 

Wilbur, Fundy, and Philza insisted on sharing a room, (something about secret surprise and evil plans, George hadn’t really been listening.) Technoblade had called the huge couch in the living room, saying he didn’t want to wake anyone up with his midnight enchantment sessions (sleeptalking). Karl and Quackity were sharing a room with three twin beds, planning for Sapnap to be there too. He had wanted to be with them but after healing the George and Dream would be sharing, (not only a room but, *gasp*, a bed!), decided that it was best for him to move a twin bed into that room, as he said he needed to “make sure everything stayed PG friendly.”

That had gotten a wheeze out of Dream and a laugh from the rest of the cabin, whilst George sulked in his chair, trying and failing to hide his red face. It was from that moment on that George knew, it was gonna be a long 2 weeks. And he wasn’t wrong. 

Today had been easier than the previous day, thank god. Tubbo, Tommy, and Sapnap had made pancakes for breakfast that were more or less edible. Then everyone went off to wrap presents that they had gotten for their Secret Santas the previous day. A few snowmen later, lunch was eaten at the lodge, and then everyone trickled back into the cabin to do whatever they wanted, leading George to the current moment.

However, the first three days, the 20th, 21st, and 22nd had all followed a different pattern; wake up, eat breakfast at the lodge, ski, eat lunch at the lodge, messing around in the snow, ski, eat dinner in the cabin, group stream (read: pure. fucking. chaos.), and relaxation time, or “family bonding time” as Phil called it. Then sleep and repeat. The hardest part of the day was definitely tied between “family bonding time” as Tommy was a piece of shit, or sleeping, cause Georges’s sleep schedule was beyond fucked. Not to mention he had to share a bed with Dream.

He didn’t really mind, if he was being completely honest, he kind of enjoyed it. He could stare at Dream for hours without the other man knowing, watching the way the moonlight highlighted his cheeks, the rise and fall of his chest every time he took a breath, how his hair slowly became messier as Dream tossed and turned in his sleep. It made George’s heart do little flips. 

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by Dream (speak of the devil), Alyssa, Eret, and Antfrost bursting through the door, calling everyone to help them bring groceries inside. Tubbo, Tommy Wilbur, and Niki poured out of the kitchen, all dusted with a nice layer of flour. Phil and Techno reluctantly stood up from the dining table, Techno having to drag Phil as he complained about his “old, brittle bones”. 

Bad and Skeepy dragged Callahan from the floor, each looping one of their arms through one of his, now arguing about the best size and shape of rugs. Sapnap was carrying Karl in a piggyback and barreled forward towards Dream screaming, “TIME TO DIE BITCH BOY!!”, seemingly redirecting their anger from monopoly onto Dream, which George was sure Dream didn’t enjoy. He had half the mind to tell them to stop, as Fundy and Quackity joined in, chasing Alyssa, Antfrost, and Eret with pillows, causing everyone else to drop what they were doing and join in the pillow fight.

George couldn’t be bothered to join them. As much as he loved his chaotic family, he couldn’t uproot himself from his comfy beanbag. He watched them fight, Tommy screaming swears at the top of his lungs, Quackity ranting in Spanish, and Techno dropping to his knees, going into some dramatic monologue about orphans. And Dream. His face flushed from the snow, windblown blonde hair, cute dimples, and a smile that made George’s heart twist.

Then he began mentally scolding himself. Trying to wipe the stupid, giddy smile off his face that he got just from looking at Dream. Trying to make the thoughts stop. Trying to tell himself it would never happen. Trying to tell himself that Dream was straight. Trying to tell himself that if he kept telling himself these things, he would believe them. Trying to tell himself to drop the little shred of hope he had that Dream might love him back. 

He lost any hope of relaxation, trapped back in the little spiral of his mind. He burrowed his face deeper into the beanbag as if he could run away from his thoughts. Sighing, George let sleepiness overtake him, ready for his midday nap (because fuck normal sleep schedules, I’m writing this at 1 am).


	2. no escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to say this at the beginning of the fic so i'm gonna put it here instead. 
> 
> don't ship people IRL. this is a ship of their online personas and if either of them ever says anything about being uncomfortable with fanfiction that includes them, i will immediately take this down.
> 
> Enjoy this chapter, it's longer than the previous one but still short. i was thinking of doing a chapter from Dreams pov, what do you guys think?

_23rd of December_

Mistletoe. Sapnap had made Dream get mistletoe as a decoration, no doubt to poke fun at Dream and George. Which would be fine. If George didn’t have an ever-growing crush on the other man. 

The mistletoe was brought to attention like this. They were in the middle of unpacking groceries, a few hours after he had fallen asleep in the beanbag, and Sapnap, with a shit-eating grin, had reached into a bag and brought out a little sprig of the poisonous plant. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Skeppy tense up.

“So, where shall we hang this?” he said, smirking and looking at George with amusement in his eyes. George could feel his face heating up and skimmed his memory to try and remember if he had ever told Sapnap about his crush on Dream, as this was definitely one of the things he would do to try and get them together. He was so close to punching Sapnap’s fucking smug face, not really thinking about the consequences. He was in pain with this love and he didn’t exactly enjoy it when people poked fun at him, even if it was meant as a joke.

But before he could worry about it, the mistletoe no longer existed. 

Skeppy grabbed the plant, threw it on the ground, and began driving his heel into it (George made a mental note to thank Skeppy later). Tubbo and Tommy then joined in screaming, “MURDER THE PLANT! MURDER THE PLANT!” while running around Skeppy like they were trying to summon a demon.

“Why?” Sapnap groaned with his head in his hands, being very overdramatic as he threw himself backward onto the floor. “Why did you do that?”

Tommy looked Sapnap dead in the face and said, “Murder. The. Plant.”

Then everyone burst out laughing, resuming unpacking to groceries. Antfrost moved to clean the very dead plant, whilst Sapnap went to a corner of the room and sulked. Skeppy looked quite relieved now that the mistletoe was gone, why George had no idea. However, he kept glancing over at Bad. 

Oh. Something clicked in Georges’s head as he put away the pasta. Skeppy liked Bad. That didn’t particularly surprise him. What did was the fact the George was able to recognize it that fast, despite having an incredibly hard time telling if anyone had a crush on him. It took him several years to figure out that he liked Dream, though he was honestly still proud of himself for even being able to figure it out. That didn’t make the blushing, the heart rate, or even just the prospect of being in love with his best friends any easier to deal with. 

George knew that other people were talking in the background, but the groceries were all put away and he couldn’t be bothered to focus back on them, so he just nodded and moved to sit on the counter. Then he let himself become even more lost in the endless abyss that was his head.

Somehow he stumbled into the fractured memories of his dream, or, well, nightmare, from his quick nap.

They were only bits and pieces. Dream holding him over a lava lake and threatening to throw him in. Why George didn’t know, but it still scared him. He never wanted to make Dream angry or make Dream hate him. That was one of the major reasons he had never told Dream he liked him. He just couldn’t risk their friendship for his stupid feelings that had a 0.5% chance of being reciprocated. As much as he loved Dream romantically, his friendship with him, his approval, and just his existence would always be more important. 

Another fragment involved Tommy, Wilbur, Dream, and him in a dinner when Tommy stood up on the table and screamed, “I ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN ENSURING DEATH!!” Then he was hit in the face with a chair.

The last part he remembered...confused him, to say the least. He was standing in a field of snow, a forest to his left and a scattering of log cabins to his right. Somehow he knew it was 3:17 am. The stars lit up the sky and there was a full moon. Snow was softly falling from the sky, despite there being no clouds. He plopped down on the ground and stared up at the sky. This felt familiar...and safe. 

“Hey, George.”

George hummed in response and heard the crunching of snow, as someone approached him. The person sat next to him and as George turned to look, he sighed. Dream’s supposedly green eyes were light up in the moonlight, along with the rest of his face, but his eyes seemed to sparkle especially.

Dream was looking at him too, a soft smile on his face, tripling his adorableness and causing George’s heart to do flips. 

“Why are you staring at me?”

“You’re so cute Georgie, has anyone ever told you that?”

George could feel his face turning red, but he hoped Dream would assume it was the cold.

“I mean, a few people maybe, I don’t know, I don’t really keep track of that kind of thing.” George knew he was rambling but Dream had just called him cute, so that was to be expected. “Like, I don’t know, I think one of the girls who had a crush on me in middle school told me that, and, you know, fans tell me that, and stuff so like-”

“George?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

Dream hummed. “I don’t think you do know though.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not sure, I just don’t think you believe me.”

George debated what to say. He could either play it off, be silly about it, joke around like he normally did. He felt very put on the spot and he didn’t really like it, by doing that he could shift the conversation to something else. But, he could also say,

“Then make me believe you.”

Dream head snapped towards him and his face lit up in an awkward grin as he shifted his weighted, laughing slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not sure,” George said, leaning slightly towards Dream.

Dream leaned slightly towards him too, his smile becoming softer. 

George leaned closer again and then, their lips were touching. It was sudden, yet it felt so natural like it was meant to be. Like stopping it from happening was a crime. It was everything George could have ever imagined. Soft, warm, safe. And then it ended. George woke up, Callahan shaking him, beckoning him towards the kitchen. 

That dream had hurt George an unbelievable amount. It teased him, reminding him of exactly what he couldn’t have. And yet it felt safe. It was everything he had ever wanted, and also everything he could never have. George sighed. His crush was becoming harder to cope with. It was hard when everything was online. The screen felt threatening to even their friendship, not to mention George’s romantic feelings. The fact that this was all online made it feel almost not real. Made it feel fake or like trickery. It was terrifying. But it was nothing compared to having Dream in front of him, real, in the flesh, with behaviors and mannerisms that George’s brain could and did try to manipulate to what George desired, making him have to let himself down constantly. It was exhausting. And now sleep wasn’t even letting him escape it.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized that everyone had left the kitchen except him and Dream, who was sitting at the island, staring at him with a soft smile on his face just like in the dream. George caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, causing Dream to lightly blush, which was strange, and raise an eyebrow back. To which George responded with another raised eyebrow.

At this point, they were both stifling small giggles, as Dream rested his chin on both of his hands, squishing his cheeks a bit. And George was overcome by of wave of cuteness as Dream stared into his eyes, a stupid small smile on his face. 

“Stop,” George muttered, trying and failing to keep the affection he felt for the other man out of his voice.

“You know you like the attention Georgie.”

“I don’t like attention, I hate being the center of it, we’ve been over this many times.” Which was true, George wasn’t lying. But attention from Dream was different. He just had to hope the other man didn’t know this.

Dream hummed lightly, standing up from the island and slowly making his way towards George, a smirk replacing the small smile.

“Sorry, I should have specified, you like attention from me.” Welp, he knew. A blush threatened to make its way over his face.

“Once again, don’t know what you’re talking about, I always enjoy it when you’re out of this house and gone.”

“Sure, keep lying to yourself, deep down we both know the truth.” Dream was now right next to George leaning against the counter to his left. After a moment of silence, George spoke up.

“Alright, I’ll bite, what’s this deep truth?”

“That you like me. That you're a simp for me,” He was now doing an excellent impression of Sapnap’s shit-eating grin from earlier, “That you love me~.” 

Dream had now positioned himself in front of George and before he could worry about what others might think if they were to walk in right now, Dream reached out two hands and began to tickle him.

George toppled off the counter, letting out shrieks of fear, as his mind filled up with one thought: RUN. The cabin was big so he could easily hide somewhere. Diving over furniture and sliding across the floor in his fuzzy socks, he managed to run a full lap through the house, put some space between him and Dream, and slip back into the living room to hide underneath the coffee table.

Dream came back into the room and began searching around, somehow not out of breath, while George struggled to calm his heart rate, from the chase and from stupid love. 

“Geeeeeorge~,” he sang, walking around the room, “ Why are you hiding? I know you’re in here. I know you love me~. Everyone knows George. So why can’t you just say it?”

Shivering under the coffee table, he pulled his legs closer, thoroughly not enjoying this IRL episode of Minecraft Manhunt. 

“Just say that you love me George and I’ll let you go.”

Fuck no, he’d rather die.

Almost as if Deam could hear his thoughts he said, “Come on George just say it, it’s only four words.” 

And you could hear his grin. 

“Georgie~, I will find you.”

Well, yeah, the coffee table wasn’t the greatest hiding spot. 

“Gogy, I love you, why can’t you say it back?”

Gogy, I love you, echoed in Georges’s mind, causing a small smile to form on his face. It was dumb but even just hearing those words from Dream made him blush. Even though he knew they were platonic, even though if he ever were to respond, they would have a completely different meaning, but for once he was tempted to say I love you back. He imagined Dream blushing at the sound of hearing those words from his mouth. It was a nice thought. 

And a thought that was very quickly interrupted by Dream’s cute freckled face swinging down to check underneath the coffee table. For a second he didn’t seem to see George, but then his face twisted into an ever bigger smirk if that was even possible.

“Last chance Georgie, do you love me?”

To which George responded with a screech as he rolled out of the coffee table, tripping over his feet as he began running again. Only to be tackled and thrown against the couch. At this point, Dream and him were trying to insult each other but were laughing too hard for any noise to be comprehendible. 

Flopping on the couch, Dream made a weak attempt to tickle him but George was able to easily pushed him off. Dream flopped on the floor, wheezing and doing his lovely tea kettle impersonation. Just the sight of it filled up George’s heart with love as he gazed at his best friend, immobile on the floor, shaking with laughter. And he wanted this, just him and Dream, happy, forever. 

But, George’s mind said, We can’t always have what we want. And he felt all the love in his heart turn to ice and shatter into a million pieces, as he knew, realistically, his love would never be returned. But he could still live in the moment, still wish, still dream. 

“Hey, are you two love birds gonna keep making out, or are you gonna come join the stream?” Sapnap’s voice called out, echoing through the house.

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Dream’s voice responded still shaking with laughter.

“We weren’t making out!” George screamed, his heart in shatters, even the thought of romantic behaviors with Dream hurt too much, so he was now determined to keep things as platonic as possible.

Dream had other ideas though. “But you would have preferred it.”

And George was blushing the 25th time today, knowing he would like nothing better than that. ‘Course he couldn’t tell Dream that but the taller man seemed to take George’s silence to mean something, what George wasn’t sure, but he really seemed to find it hilarious.

Dream was doubled over in laughter again, clutching his stomach. George angrily glared at the living tea kettle as he stood up from the couch, beginning to walk over to the room they were using for streaming. 

“Awww, George,” Dream laughed, “you’re so cute when you’re angry!” 

Stopping dead in his tracks, George processed what Dream had said and wished the other man knew how painfully his existence was for George. Cute. He had called him cute. In real life. Not in a dream. And George’s face was burning red. Dream had stood up, still hugging his stomach, hobbling over to George, shaking with laughter. He grabbed onto George’s shoulder to steady himself, causing George to blush even more from this small, not even romantic contact. Why, oh, why was he falling apart so badly today?

“You're.” Wheeze. “So.” Wheeze. “Red.” Wheeze.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

George sighed, no he didn’t, he could never hate Dream, as much as he tried. And he had tried. Hate was easier than love, after all. 

“Fine, I guess I don’t hate your stupid ass.”

“Say you love me.”

“Sure,” he said with an eye roll, which made him miss how Dream’s eyes lit up, “When Tommy is mature for a whole stream, I’ll think about it.”

As if to prove George’s point, you could faintly hear Tommy screaming, “PENIS, PENIS, PENIS!” followed by Bad’s “Language!!!” and everyone laughing.

George looked back at Dream as he started to laugh again, so he left him in the hallway and went in to join the stream (read: chaos to summon Satan himself).

What he didn’t see was how forced Dream’s laugh just then was, how his eyes fell when he realized George was being sarcastic, and how he watched as the mistletoe was destroyed, Sapnap’s idea to “help” Dream figure out if his best friend was interested in being something other than just best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! please leave a comment, i love reading them and they give me motivation, something i *severely* lack with my adhd. 
> 
> i'm going on a trip soon so i won't have internet. when the next update will be is anyone guess. i also have no idea how long this is gonna be.
> 
> have a good rest of your day, take care of yourselves! :)


	3. sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who has internet briefly!!! here's a short dream pov chapter that i wrote and edited whilst waiting for the face reveal, which is in 30 mins and i rly feel like its gonna be a meme. also, i think that this is one of the longer chapters so far, which is sad cause i wanted it to be short. but here, have some mentally unstable dream.
> 
> also i created a Spotify playlist for this fic cause i got bored https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RpRPL2USK5bhzozWL2HLl

_23rd of December_

Dream found it funny that George was so blushy about having to share a bed with him, and even more blushy about Sapnap being in the same room. Dream didn’t mind. He got to be close to George. And so far, it hadn’t been too awkward. The only possible downside was the fact that he talked in his sleep. He didn’t really want to admit his feelings for George through sleeptalking, although that would be a funny “how I lost my best friend” story.

However, something...strange happened tonight. After the stream, they had eaten dinner, Sapnap annoying Dream and George to an extreme about why they took so long to join the stream. Which, of course, caused George to blush. Tommy was ecstatic as he had beaten Minecraft with a new best time. Tubbo seemed to be taking the majority of Tommy’s excitement, and thank god for that because an excited Tommy was a loud Tommy.

Cookies had been made earlier so everyone decorated them and then went to take showers, as Karl had started a food fight when Alyssa mentioned him and Sapnap flirting on stream. Frosting ended up on the ceiling, poor Callahan had gotten eggnog dumped on his head and there were now sprinkles embedded in the rugs. 

Dream had smashed a cookie in George’s hair, bursting out laughing at the absolutely astonished look on his face. This was also the reason George took so long in the shower. But when he came into the living room, Dream’s breath got caught in his throat, he stopped mid-sentence in his conversation about anteaters with Wilbur. George’s hair was damp and slightly curly, his eyes were illuminated by the firelight, and Dream could feel his mind trying to cope with how fucking cute George was. He could also see Sapnap smirking at him from across the room. 

George seemed to be completely oblivious to Dream’s staring, similar to his oblivion to flirting, romantic gestures, or really just anything non-platonic from Dream. That combined with the fact that Dream had a very hard timing telling what people were thinking and feeling had made it near impossible for Dream to tell if George liked him back, though at this point he had long given up on that wish.

“Alright everyone I’m gonna head off to bed now.”

With a chorus of goodnight from everyone and a “Have fun laying unconscious!” from Tommy, George disappeared into their room. 

“So, I see George has stolen your heart again?”

“Shut up, Sapnap.” Dream muttered, groaning.

“Aww, you’re so in love.”

“I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight,” Eret called from the floor, “And if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m always here.” 

Dream would have seen that as considerate if it wasn’t for Eret and everyone else’s grins. Dream did a poor job hiding his crush, he wore his emotions and thoughts on his face, one of the reasons he didn’t do a face cam or show his face on a regular basis to friends. But now that they were all on a trip together and because the universe hated him, everyone but George had figured it out on the first day of the trip. Even Tommy, who was notoriously bad at reading the room. Because of this, he had to deal with teasing. It wasn’t big and upfront, more muttering under breath when he walked by or writing things out in the snow. Right now it was Alyssa murmuring, “Ooooh, Dreamie’s in looooooooooooooove,” under her breath as he walked by. This trip had really taught him anger management, as he had to restrain himself from starting pillow fights every other second. 

And somehow George still had no idea that any of this was going on. His oblivious ass just sat there playing with Dream’s heartstrings and there was nothing he could do about it without possibly jeopardizing their friendship. Did he like him as a friend, as something more, or was Dream just overthinking and exaggerating George’s reactions to his flirts? He was well known for overthinking things. 

He walked into their shared room, George flashed him a small smile before getting under the many blankets. George’s smile was so cute. He wanted to see happiness light up his face every day, he wanted to be the source of that happiness, he wanted to make him blush and laugh, and stare at the face that was somehow 100 times cuter every day, if that were even possible. Despite Dream’s ability to show the world his thoughts, he had gotten good at containing his blushing, something he was thankful for now more than ever as he didn’t have a screen to hide him from the world. Sapnap walked into the attached bathroom as he was brushing his teeth, already changed into pajamas. Sapnap opened his mouth to say something, probably more teasing, so Dream hurriedly finished brushing his teeth and whispered, “Save it for later, he’s in the other room.”

“Oh come on, he’s been oblivious this long, I don’t think he’d be able to tell you love him if you screamed it in his face.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to risk it. I don’t want to hurt our friendship.”

Sapnap rolled his eyes, “Even if he didn’t like you back, do you really think he would end a friendship over something like that?”

He had a point, though Dream wasn’t going to tell him that. “You don’t know that for sure, besides...Karl.”

This earned him a punch in the arm from Sapnap along with a look that really said “You are an asshole” very well.

“We’ve been over this, I don’t like Karl.”

“Sure…and I’m not the most successful Minecraft YouTuber ever.”

“That’s true, your not.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“And you're missing my point, you like George.”

“Yes, we have established that on multiple occasions. Where are you going with this?”

“You like him.”

“Yes, I do.”

“What do you do when you like someone?” Sapnap was acting as though this was kindergarten.

“Push down all feelings you have about them and suffer in gay silence?”

“No.”

“I’m not asking him out. We both know that that is never going to happen.”

“Fair, but when you guys are getting married in 5 years, I definitely get to say I told you so.”

Dream groaned, “Stop teasing me about things I can’t have.”

Sapnap seemed to notice the slight change in his tone and stopped teasing, as he had quickly learned to recognize when it was getting to be too much for Dream. He held his arms out, offering a hug to which Dream gladly accepted, almost falling into the other man’s arms, he was beyond touch starved and loved hugs.

“Hey man, you can tell him when you’re ready. He’ll sit there and be an idiot for as long as you need, there are no expectations of you here. No one you need to impress. We’re all friends here and we’ve got your back through anything. You really need to stop letting that voice in your head control you. George won’t ever hate you, you two are too close.” Sapnap had to shush Dream here as he tried to jump in to argue. “He cares about you, alright? Maybe not romantically, although I’m like, 90 percent sure he does like you back but whatever. Seriously though, if you need help or need to talk about anything, I’m here and so is Eret and everyone else. If the teasing gets to be too much, we can stop, we don’t want to hurt you or make you uncomfortable, it’s just the way we act when friends get crushes. You’re not a burden though, ask for help if you need it.”

“Thanks, and I am ok with the jokes and stuff, it makes the situation seem less serious.” He removed himself from the hug, flashing Sapnap a small smile as he turned to go back to the other room, he could feel small tears welling up in his eyes. He pushed the whirlpool of emotions down, now was really not the time to have a mental breakdown. It was really unfair that just a few reassuring words from Sapnap could almost break him down to tears. It felt nice to be cared about. He knew that he always was, but hearing it as words made it seem more real. It also made it harder for the little nagging voice to deny the fact that he was cared about. He plopped down on the left side of the bed, burying his head in a pillow, which absorbed the tears that poured out of his eyes silently, despite him trying to stop them.

After a few minutes, he felt a hand brush against his back, a silent goodnight from Sapnap. Staying in the fetal position for a few more minutes to give Sapnap time to fall asleep, he tried to mentally stabilize himself again, running over coping strategies he had learned through therapy. And though they didn’t completely silence his anxiety, it lowered it from a shouting voice to a nice, quiet, inside voice. He felt ok enough to zone back into existing.

It was quiet, all through the house, except for Dream’s mind, which was running 100 fucking miles an hour, as it does when one has ADHD. Sapnap’s breathing was steady, meaning he had probably already fallen asleep. Dream turned to face George, who had his eyes closed and was still. His breathing gave him away though, it was anything but steady. But if he wanted to pretend to be asleep, Dream wasn’t going to stop him. 

His mind began to wander, though his eyes rested on George’s moonlit face, which he could stare at for hours, it really was unfair how cute George was. He wanted to go over everything that had happened in the day, wrap his head around it, process it all. That was what he found worked best. Otherwise, he would wake up feeling confused and rushed. But he was tired. So tired. The last thought that went through his head was the Secret Santa present he had gotten for George along with the feeling of excitement. Then heavy darkness washed over him and he fell into sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Though Dream’s sleep schedule wasn’t the best, he would always sleep for large, uninterrupted chunks at a time.

And he assumed tonight would be the same, because, why would it be any different? But when he opened his eyes, moonlight still bathed the room. What had made him wake up confused him. He felt something soft, fingertips, tracing along his face. It felt so familiar. His mom used to do that when he was 5 or 6 and couldn’t sleep. She would sing lullabies, words to which he had long forgotten. It would relax him and calm him down. 

Then his mom became busy at night; bickering with his dad, working late shifts, studying, caring for younger siblings. She would pop into his room to say goodnight and that she loved him. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed this and the safety and comfort it brought. He really needed it now more than ever, his world growing ever more confusing by this day. This brought him back to simpler times when the biggest decision he had to make was what he would wear or eat for breakfast. 

The fingers felt ghost-like, barely touching his skin, just dancing across it, so gentle. He sighed, leaning into the touch, and moved to open his eyes, only to see vague shapes moving, someone rustling next to him. And then the fingers were gone. And he was alone again. He was so tired, he wanted to sob. He wanted comfort. Instead, he let sleep pull him back under, and when he woke up in the morning, he thought nothing of the whole thing and decided it was a dream, not noticing the nervous way George glanced at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so dream pov, how do we like it? im excited for the next chapter, we'll be back to george's pov. im also in the middle of writing another fic so cant wait to post that. also please talk to me in the comments, i love reading them and i need social interaction.
> 
> Edit: i went back through this chapter this morning with Grammarly's help and omg there were so many spelling mistakes sry about that, i'm pretty sure fixed them all but let me know if you find any


	4. why

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...the chapters slowly get longer and longer. we back to gogy's pov. also i modeled the sexuality part of the chap off of my own experiences, just a heads up. :)

_24th of December_

George loved skiing. He loved the feeling of wind hitting his face, watching the snow gracefully fall from the clouds, as he sped away from his problems, letting his mind go and just relaxing. He had picked up the skill pretty quickly, despite only having a few previous experiences. The only people who had picked up the sport faster than him were Dream and Technoblade. Luckily because of their “rivalry”, Dream had focused more on annoying Techno when they were skiing than George. Tommy, Niki, and Skeppy had, let’s just say, not excelled and were still on the bunny slope. Wilbur, Tubbo, and Bad had stayed with them, keeping them company (awww). 

George tended to go on the slopes for medium-skilled skiers, occasionally going down some of the harder ones. Today he chose to go down a long trail that ran the half-length of the mountain as he hadn’t been able to ski yesterday and he needed a long ski escape now more than ever. It had kinda become a coping mechanism. Mainly to help him deal with Dream and his annoyingly beautiful face that George wanted to punch but also kiss and it just made him so fucking confused. 

And last night. George wanted to kick a wall or throw his head against a table just thinking about it. It was 1 am and he still wasn’t able to go to sleep. Everyone else was snoozing happily, not having to calculate how much coffee they would have to drink in the morning to gain the will to live. He had told himself he wouldn’t look at Dream tonight, instead opting to pretend to sleep when he came in and staring at a wall instead of his face. 

He’d been doing this for several hours though and the wall was still blank and white. Having insomnia sucked. Sighing, he tossed and turned trying to get in a more comfortable position. And he ended up staring at Dream’s face, yet again. It was really so unfair. Why? Why did he have to be so fucking gorgeous? George really just didn’t get it. 

Then Dream yawned, tossing his head around and grabbing another pillow to cuddle. George, despite scolding himself in his head, couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be in the place of the pillow. Snuggled up next to Dream, being able to bury his head in the other man’s chest. It hurt. Bad. Something he knew he could never have, lying right in front of him, like the universe was taunting him. 

So he settled for the next best thing. He very gently lifted his hand up, screaming at himself to stop, to go back, knowing it would only make the pain worse. His fingers traced Dream’s face, along his nose, his jaw, his closed eyes, his lips. So very gentle, as to not wake him. He barely had time to think about what Sapnap might say if he were to wake up to this when Dream began to move. 

Pure terror coursed through his veins, and his heart rate sky rocked. He pulled his hand back as if Dream’s face were burning lava, immediately turning back around to face the wall, trying to lay as still as possible. After a few minutes of anxiety-riddled horror, George turned his head ever so slightly to glance back at Dream, who, thank god, seemed to have fallen back asleep. George’s heart rate decreased slightly, but after that, he had gotten next to no sleep.

Which probably had some correlation to the fact that he had run off course into a tree. He made the mental note to not go skiing when the only sleep he had gotten was 5 cups of coffee. Grumbling and rubbing his head, he attempted to stand up, before being reminded that he was wearing foot extensions called skis.

“Fuck.”

Flopping back into the snow, he considered giving up on life and just dying in the snow when he heard a wheezing laugh from behind him and snow particles flew in his face. Dream. He was disappointed at how just the existence of Dream was exciting to him. 

“Aww, did you fall for me~?” 

“No, I hit a tree, is that not obvious?”

“Well I hate to break it to you but that’s not quite the point of skiing Gogy.”

“Shut up you dumbass and help me get up.”

Wheezing, Dream lent out a hand, but he was laughing too hard and just ended up toppling into the snow next to George, who’s aching head was struggling enough. Now it also had to deal with Dream almost hugging him as he tried to recover from his laughing fit. George wasn’t even sure what was so funny.

“Why are you two cuddling in the snow?” Quackity’s very confused, but smug face appeared above him along with Technobalde’s and Sapnap’s.

“Yeah you two, there are perfectly good rooms back at the cabin.” George really wanted to slap the smirk right off of Sapnap’s face. Instead, he weakly threw a snowball at him and muttered out something in his defense before standing up and skiing away, leaving a Dream dying of laughter in a snowbank with three other confused friends. 

After flying down the hill, determined to put as much space between him and Dream, he hopped on a ski lift that went to the very top of the mountain. Skiing down the whole mountain was more than he had ever attempted before, at least in one go. He was probably gonna regret this when he was exhausted all through Christmas Eve. But falling asleep early did mean he got to skip out on the night.

He knew it was gonna be chaotic. Tommy, Tubbo, Antfrotst, Callahan, Fundy, Philza, Alyssa, Skeppy, and Bad were doing a quick ski day before going to prepare a feast. They had also told everyone not to eat lunch, which worried George because there was only so much space in the fridge for leftovers. On top of that, they were going to stay up till midnight watching Christmas movies and playing board games. And when you have 18 people doing those things, a few disasters are gonna happen. They had all decided to not stream tonight, decided a Christmas day stream was more manageable, as things were already busy enough.

The ski lift took George off the ground, flying high above everyone else. He had never been a fan of heights, they actually terrified him quite a bit, but ski lifts were ok. They were a good starting point for him to work on combatting his fear so that he could jump out of planes someday, as Sapnap said. However, Sapnap also murdered people's Minecraft pets on a daily basis and thought that pineapples were a good fruit, so George really didn't want to take any of his advice. 

Determined not to let Sapnap spoil his one chance at relaxation before he had to visit the interpretation of hell tonight, he decided to focus back on the ski lift. The view from them was really quite beautiful. Tall pine trees rose up to the clouds, dusted with fresh snow, for miles the forest grew. The only openings were the ski trails and the ski lodge area. It was so peaceful. George let out a small smile as he sighed. No Tommy yelling, no Eret and Phil singing, no Dream and the infuriating feelings he had for him. Just a blank mind. It was nice for once. 

He heard Karl’s scream before he saw the mess. Somehow, Karl had crashed into Sapnap, who had crashed into Quackity, who had flown off the trail into a snowbank. An out of control Antfrost came after, joining the pile of wipeouts. Eret and Dream brought up the rear, laughing as they easily stopped, pulling everyone to their feet and making sure no one had died. Then Techno came around the bend at a speed that was far too fast and wasn’t able to stop in time, crashing into Dream which caused a domino effect of screaming, falling, and laughing.

George chuckled from afar, looking over the accident. Everyone seemed alright so that was good, laughs were going all around. He liked skiing alone, but bonding moments like that made him wish he was more social, more extroverted so that he felt able to ski with others. He knew that all of these people were his friends, and normally that meant he could spend long amounts of time around them, but he had just felt so tired recently. 

Sighing, he focused his attention on dismounting the lift. A smile grew on his face as he remembered the first time he had gotten off a lift. It was the first day here and everyone was skiing to try and escape the jet lag. He had practiced a few skills on the bunny slope with everyone before the ski instructor told him that his skills were good enough that he wouldn’t die on the easy slopes. 

Dream, Techno, Wilbur, and him had located a ski lift and Techno and Wilbur took the first hanging bench, letting Dream and George, who were both terrified of heights, to take the second. Dream had, supposedly, been on one of these before so he did his best to talk George through what was happening.

“Alright, so the chair thing is going to come up behind us and scoop us up, just sit on it, yeah just like that. I’m going to lower this bar thing in front of us so that we don’t go toppling out, not that we would otherwise, but it’ll just help you feel safer. Now don’t look down, just relax.”

“Relax?!? Dream, you do realize we’re, like, 100 fucking feet in the air right now, and we could fall to our death any minute!?!?” George’s eyes were darting around, looking for someplace safe to look, anxiety creeping up his throat, and the fact that he was squished right next to Dream was not helping.

Dream signature wheezes broke through the crisp cold air, as he wrapped an arm around George’s shoulder, bringing him close to his body. “George, just breath, it’s okay, I got you, we’re safe.” 

He glanced down at George who was snuggling into his arms and gave him a small smile. George smiled back and nuzzled closer to Dream soaking up the warmth and comfort that it gave him. He felt safe all of a sudden. He wanted to stay there forever, being held by Dream, his arms wrapped around him. He let himself have this moment, even though he knew he was selfish for enjoying it, stealing something that could never be his. It felt evil. But he didn’t really care. A soft blush dusted his cheeks and his heart rate was going slightly faster than normal. Well, now that George was looking back at that memory, it might not have been his heart that was speeding. 

But then Dream had pulled away and lifted the bar in front of them up and immediately George panicked. Yeah, he had just hugged his best friend/crush, and jumping to his death seemed like an appropriate response to the situation, but still!!! Then Dream slid off the bench and George remembered that you have to get off the ski lift.

Freaking out, he tried to ready his skis but ending up digging the front of them into the ground. This caused them to get stuck and thus flopping him forwards, off the ski lift, as he slid down the small slope on his face, wanting to dig a hole in the snow and die. He could hear Techno and Wilbur laughing in the background as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Hesitantly lifting his face out of the snow, he was met with a giggling Dream, who was really the last person he wanted to see, considering they had just been snuggling a moment ago.

“You're such an idiot.” Dream laughed, but it wasn’t mean. It was kind, almost fond. And the words seemed strung with affection. Dream held out a hand to help him up and George accepted it, noticing but ignoring the slight blush that spread across the American’s cheeks, deciding to blame the cold. 

The memory made him confused and he tried not to think about it, but it would sometimes just rise to the surface. He did a lot of stupid things, he thought as he made his way down the mountain, relatively slowly so that he could think simultaneously. If he had to pick the dumbest, it probably had to be falling in love with his best friend. Not that that was something he could necessarily control, but it still was so fucking annoying, like, why Dream, the person he was closest with. The person he spent every single fucking day with. The person who happened to be the same gender as him, meaning he had to question his sexuality, which really was not fun. Luckily, with a bit of help from Google, he had decided he identified as bisexual for now. Not that he was out to anyone or anything, but he liked having a label, it made him feel more grounded. 

Though whenever he was around Dream, he felt so out of control, like he had been knocked off his feet, sometimes literally. 

“Geeeeeeeeeeoooooooooorge!”

Smack. Face. In. Snow. Laughing. Dream. Ow. 

“Sorry.” Dream said, helping George up.

“You’re really not sorry.”

“No, I’m not, it was funny. Although I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have a black eye in the morning from the accidents I’ve been in.”

George did nothing but grumble in response, as he pushed off of Dream to gain some momentum to get across the flat slope that he was stuck on.

“Aww, why so eager to get away from me? Is it cause I make you blush~?”

“You wish. Why did you follow me?” He was now slowly gaining speed but kept going slow so that he and Dream could have a conversation.

“Oh, Skeppy texted me to tell everyone that we needed to be back to the cabin at 2:30, that’s when the “Christmas Eve Festivities” begin apparently.”

“Time to mentally prepare yourself.”

“Well, as long as........y’know what, it’s gonna be chaotic no matter what.”

“Did you just realize that?” George turned a corner, Dream right beside him.

“If we just keep everyone away from Monopoly, Uno, Mario Kart, and Among Us, we should be able to keep the ruining of friendships and major headaches to a minimum.”

“You forgot the fact that Tommy was assigned the role of DJ.”

“Well.......I’m glad I got Panadol at the store, we’re gonna fucking need it.”

George laughed in response to this and they continued skiing in silence, passing the halfway mark. Then George crashed into another tree.

“I already told you, crashing into things is not the point of skiing.” Laughter filled Dream’s voice as stars danced in front of Goerge’s eyes.

“Fuck off!”

“If you wanna kiss something so badly, I’m always here!” He stuttered off into laughter while George righted himself, praying his blushing wasn’t too obvious, as he scooted across the snow to punch Dream on the arm.

“I.” Wheeze. “Am not.” Wheeze. “Very fond.” Wheeze. “Of your retaliation tactics.” Wheeze.

“And I’m not very fond of your existence, but here we are.”

This only made Dream laugh harder. At this point, George wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.

“You ready to keep going?”

Dream gave a weak thumbs up and they resumed flying down the mountain, George waiting for Dream to stop snickering to start a conversation.

“Is lava wet?”

Taken aback, George almost crashed into another tree, “What the actual fuck goes through your mind?”

“So much.”

“Alright, pop off then.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“Just talk about whatever.”

“Aww, so desperate to hear my voice, Georgie?”

Blushing, George turned away.

“Well, there’s my answer.” A smirk was spread across his face as he began to ramble on about whatever, doing a very good job of speedrunning talking. George zoned out, occasionally butting in every now and then to say something, but mainly focusing on the trail. And Dream’s voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so excited for the next chap. its 2 am here so imma go sleep and write it tomorrow, you all sleep and eat and take care of urself too. pls leave a comment, i live for validation and i love reading them so much, u all r so nice!!!!
> 
> also thx for over 500 hits and almost 50 kudos, this is my first time ever writing a fic so this much support is crazy!!! <3


	5. christmas eve...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to my hatred for school :) it took me so long to write this, i'm not super happy with it, but i wanted to get something out to you guys. also, i heard mxmtoon's song called suffice, so this chapter is kinda about that song. i highly recommend listening to it.
> 
> *also i learned how to do bold and italic text in Ao3 so i'm super excited about that!!*

_24th of December and a tiny bit of early morning 25th_

George had no idea how he had gotten wrapped into food prep, but here he was mashing potatoes. Niki and Wilbur were there too, everyone else was either not being productive or playing various games. Or they were Skeppy and Bad and were making origami flowers for each other at the dining room table. 

“Wait, Niki, what exactly are we making?” Wilbur looked confused and was just rushing around, looking in random places. 

“So there’s ham and turkey, along with gravy and mashed potatoes. The rolls are still rising and we need to cook the pasta and make the sauces. Cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow also need to be made. Oh, and the mince pies, warm apple cider, cranberry sauce, and an apple pie because someone insisted.” 

“How can you keep track of all of those things?” George was honestly in amazement. 

Niki just laughed, looking very happy and tired, and also covered in various food crumbs. Wilbur put his arm around Niki as he went around the kitchen, asking what was happening with what. George was sure he knew what to do, but Wilbur did seem to like to listen to Niki talk, their friendship was the cutest. 

“Hey George,” Bad called from the dining table, “this looks like a dog right?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“See, he hesitated, because. It. Does. Not. Look. Like. A. Dog. Bad.” Skeppy ruffled Bad’s hair and said, “But it’s ok, I like it anyway,” with a roll of his eyes.

“Aww, thank you Skeppy!”

George couldn’t do it, he was surrounded by cute people and couldn’t stand it. The potatoes were smooth enough, and Niki and Wilbur seemed to have everything else under control.

“Hey, I’m gonna go sit in the living room, do you want me to send someone else in?”

“Yes, can you get...whoever seems the calmest?”

“... I’ll try.”

This caused both Wilbur and Niki to laugh. 

“Just send Tubbo and Tommy in with my guitar, we’ll survive.”

“Alright,” George said, preparing himself for pure chaos.

“YEAH SUCK IT GREEN BOIIIIIIIII!!!!”

“Tommy, can you and Tubbo take Wilbur his guitar please?”

“Wha- yeah sure, but you gotta destroy Dream in Uno while I’m gone.”

George sighed, “Sure.”

He sat down at the table with Dream, Antfrost, and Eret. Tommy’s hand was not good. And Dream was smirking, that was never good when you were competing with him. It was also not good for George’s heart, which decided to do some gymnastics.

“So who turn is it?” George asked

“Mine but first I think we should place bets on who will win.” Dream’s smirked widened as he said this. 

“Alright,” Eret said glancing down at his cards.

Ant leaned forward, agreeing too, along with George, who was a bit more hesitant.

Ant went first, “I bet Dream will win, if he doesn’t, I’ll…let Tommy pick out my outfit for tomorrow.” 

“Oof Ant, can’t wait to see you wearing a duck costume, we’ll have to send pictures to Velvet.” George laughed, deciding to bet he would win, for his honor if nothing else, “I bet I'll win and if I don’t, I’ll let Tommy tweet whatever he wants from the GeorgeNootFound account.” 

“Why we giving Tommy all the power, I want in on the fun too!” Sapnap butted into their conversation, along with Techno, Alyssa, Callahan, Quackity, and Karl, who must have just finished playing Jenga considering Quackity and Karl were trying to play songs with some of the woodblocks while Phil complained about his headache.

Dream laughed and said, “Alright, you want in on the fun? I bet I'll win and if I don’t, you have to _kiss_ Karl.”

Sapnap’s face dropped into shock, his mouth wide open.

“Well Sapnap’s pogging at something, what are we celebrating today boys?” Tommy joined them too, dragging Tubbo over.

“You better win Dream,” Sapnap said, still looking aghast, as Karl laughed on behind him and Quackity faked being offended, turning to Spanish and ranting about being left out, or at least, George assumed that's what he was ranting about.

“Alright Eret, you go.” Dream’s smirk was really going now.

“Ok, anything is allowed?”

“Well, like, no murder or anything but yeah pretty much, I mean I just said that Sapnap has to kiss Karl if I don’t win so…”

“Alright, I bet George will win and if he doesn’t, he has to cuddle with Dream when we watch movies tonight.”

Dream’s smirk had fallen as he stuttered out his, “ _W-HAA-T_!?!?!”

Everyone else had burst into laughter, and George muttered, “Whatever, let’s just finish the game.” He knew he was blushing and wanted to deflect attention before someone made a comment on it. 

“Aww, George, why you so embarrassed, you’re just cuddling with the bois!” If only Sapnap knew, George thought, chuckling as he played his yellow (or green?) 5.

The game was going perfectly fine. Then it wasn’t. A +4 card. Why. He was so close, he just had his blue 2 left! WHY. Then Dream won. ‘Course he won, the universe really hated George today didn’t it. 

He wasn’t gonna lie, the thought of even hugging Dream made his heart race, so cuddling was like, **BOOM** , dead. He wasn’t gonna say no to the opportunity to be close to Dream, even if he knew it would only make the crush worse. He had to deal with a headache though, caused by everyone poking fun at him, which he didn’t really mind, though he retaliated to every tease. Tommy was now on George’s phone, mulling over what to tweet. Fundy had also made a bet that George would win, and if he didn’t, Fundy and Wilbur would have to sing suffice by mxmtoon. They actually sounded decent. 

_I keep sitting here waiting for something_

_But I know nothing will happen_

_Yes, I know nothing has happened_

He blinked the tears away, no he was not going to cry over the first three lines of a song. He looked over Tommy’s shoulder, trying to read what he was typing out to distract himself.

_But I’ll keep sitting here waiting for you_

_Though I won’t do much about_

_No, I don’t do much about it_

George was never gonna confess, who was he kidding. He was just gonna sit there and suffer, press down the feelings until he died. Acting on your emotion, psh, who has their life together?

_‘Cause I have only loved without confession_

_I’d rather settle for a never-ending stream of self-questioning_

_And you are just another_

_That I’ll lose because I didn’t want to bother_

George tore away, swiftly walking to the bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t be able to hear them singing. He’d had crushes before, sure, but they were never this bad, at least he didn’t remember them that way. And they were always on girls, they were easy enough to ignore, he didn’t spend every second of every day with them.

_And how sad is it that_

_I suffice for friendship_

George groaned, he could still hear them, this cabin had very thin walls!

_I’ve never been good at being honest_

_No, at least not with my feelings_

_Oh I’d have a hard time dealing_

George was suffering to deal with his feelings but at least he was being honest with himself right? That had to count for something…

_I’ve never quite got just how one_

_Could be so brave and oh so bold_

_To share their love at ten years old_

George sighed, he really did envy those people. Skeppy and Ba- wait no. Karl and Sa- no. Antfrost was the only young person here who was actually dating someone. How though? He certainly wasn’t gonna ask.

_‘Cause I have only loved without confession_

_I’d rather settle for a never-ending stream of self-questioning_

_And you are just another_

_That I’ll lose because I didn’t want to bother_

_And how sad is it that_

_I suffice for friendship_

George sighed, at the song, at himself, and at the fact that he was sitting in the bathtub, crying over his unrequited love for his best friend. He really was a bi disaster. It was almost funny, except for the fact that it really fucking hurt!

_But I’ve longed to be that kind of person_

_Who doesn’t care, or feel a burden_

_But no, I haven’t gotten there yet_

George chuckled, more than anything, he wanted peace of mind, even if it was just for a bit. 

_But I hope one day I’ll find myself_

_Loving another so much I’ll share with the other_

_What I feel_

Whenever he imagined himself in a relationship, whenever he thought about it, the other person was Dream, or acted, sounded, and basically was Dream. And it fucking hurt. 

_‘Cause I have only loved without confession_

_I’d rather settle for a never-ending stream of self-questioning_

_And you are just another_

_That I’ll lose because I didn’t want to bother_

_And how sad is it that_

_I suffice for friendship_

George wouldn’t tell Dream, he wouldn’t be that person, the kind that shared their feelings. He would settle for friendship, as that was more than enough, he didn’t deserve more. And it wasn’t sad, that was just the way things would be. George sighed, he had a sad smile on his face, despite what he told himself about the situation. Then he heard a knock on the door. Quickly lifting himself up out of the bathroom he hurriedly said, “I’m in here!”

Dream’s voice responded, “Hey are you ok? You just disappeared suddenly so...I just wanted to check. Also, we’re eating dinner now, if you could come join us soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just had to go to the bathroom.” George quickly glanced in the mirror, thankfully his red, puffy crying eyes were gone.

“You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah, I’m fi-,” his voice got caught in his throat as he opened to door and was met with Dream’s yellow eyes staring back at him, worried. Then amused as he remarked, “You’re staring.”

“I- no, I’m not, you just caught me by surprise!”

“Suuuuuure, why are your cheeks so red then~?”

“Ugh, just shut up.” 

Dream’s laugh echoed through the house as he walked after George, catching up to him and pinching both sides of his waist.

_“Hey!”_

George turned around to tickle Dream, only to be brought into a hug by the other man, who was snickering. 

“You’re so easy to fluster Georgie.”

And with that he walked off to the dining room, leaving George standing in a hallway as his brain short-circuited, overwhelmed by the small amounts of physical contact. It felt like hours that he just stood there, shocked and flustered. Finally, he was able to move into the dining room, a blush still all over his face. His appearance seemed to go unnoticed by almost everyone as they were all too busy arguing over whether or not worms should exist. Sapnap noticed his entry, immediately glancing at Dream and then back at George, raising his eyebrows and smirking. George settled for flipping him off, to which Sapnap faked offense. Dream also noticed, he noticed pretty much everything about the British man. The way his hair ruffled, the way his eyes shined, the way he would play with something if he got nervous, the way he blushed so easily. Dream thought George was so cute when he blushed.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were on the fifth movie. Eret had insisted that they watched the new Grinch movie. They had all promised that this would be the last movie. They said that the last three times as well. It was one fucking A.M. and George was beyond exhausted. Almost everyone was on the floor, snuggled in the pile of blankets and pillows. Karl had fallen asleep and was leaning on Sapnap, everyone had taken a photo of this to use as _“blackmail"._ Tommy and Tubbo were also huddled together, discussing something. Niki and Wilbur were snuggled together on one of the loveseats, Wilbur trying to explain the plot of the movie to Niki, whose brain did not seem to be working. They had been talking for the past half an hour and Wilbur kept having laughter fits.

George was on one side of a couch, Dream was on the other. The movie was interesting, sure, but George would rather watch Dream any day. He was wearing one of his merch hoodies, his chin resting on one of his hands. He looked so focused. 

_“I bet George will win and if he doesn’t, he has to cuddle with Dream when we watch movies tonight.”_

Eret’s bet came back to George’s mind. He could though, he could go over to Dream and snuggle up next to him. He could blame it on the bet. He could blame it on the two drinks he had had tonight. He could blame it on love. Well, no, but y’know.

His brain had a little back and forth debate before deciding that the pros outweighed the cons. This didn’t stop his heart from racing a million miles an hour as he shifted from his side of the couch to Dream’s side. 

The other man noticed immediately. He looked at George, confused. 

“Shut up, I’m cold, Quackity stole my blanket. And besides, I have to complete Eret’s bet.” He knew his face was bright red, and his brain was running around screaming, **“ABORT MISSION, ABORT MISSION!!”**

“Sure,” Dream was smirking as he shared his blanket, wrapping an arm around George, pulling him even closer. “I’m sure that’s the reason, Georgie.”

“Shut up,” he weakly murmured, sinking into Dream. He could catch the smirking, questioning glances of various people, Sapnap, Eret, Skeppy, Fundy, Wilbur, Techno, Callahan. He couldn’t care less though. A smile broke across his face, his mind slowly slipping to sleep. His brain was only able to get in a quick, _“But you can’t have thi-”_ before George was asleep. Dream really was not able to focus on the movie after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear i'll start working on their relationship next chapter. updates will either get more or less frequent with the start of school, we'll see. also pls leave a comment, i love talking to you guys and it rly makes my day! <3


	6. a sliver of a chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG THIS IS JUST PURE FLUFF
> 
> i went slightly overboard with the bold and italics sry, i literally wrote this in the last 2 hours, its currently 2 am, have some dnf and karlnap fluff!!! :) 
> 
> dream pov chap dream pov chap dream pov chap dream pov chap dream pov chap dream pov chap

_early morning 25th of December_

George was right _fucking_ next to him. All snuggled up, snoring. And Dream’s brain was officially dead. _**HOW THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH THIS???**_ Like, sure, he had heard Eret’s bet, saw how George was staring at him and moving towards him but he didn’t think he would actually do it!!! 

Not that he was complaining, his head had merely stopped working, which was very sad as he really needed it to come up with good retaliations to his friend’s teases. Now he was simply reduced to a pile of embarrassed, flustered gayness, as all his friends smirked at him with knowing glances. 

Sapnap whispered, “Called it!!” and Skeppy offered a lazy smile and a weak, “Get a room,” before slumping back on Bad’s shoulder.

Antfrost had gotten his phone out to take a picture, so Dream had hidden his face in the couch arm, hating how much he was blushing. Was this what it was like for George all the time, except the blush was caused by embarrassment and not from love, as Dream still refused to even entertain the possibility of George liking him back.

The movie was almost done and Dream was tempted to make everyone else watch another, _just_ so that he could hold George for longer. 

“Alright time for bed everyone,” Phil announced with a yawn.

“Aww but I wanted to,” Tommy began, interrupted by a yawn, “Pull an,” Yawn, “Allnighter” Yawn, “FUCK MY LIFE!” Yawn.

“Tommy, shush, you’re gonna wake up George and then we have to deal with him being an oblivious idiot again!” Alyssa gestured at them, “Plus it’ll ruin this _adorable_ moment.” 

“Alyssa, I can and will throw this pillow at your face.”

“Just like how you want to throw your face on George’s, oops, I said it!!” Quackity yelled as he and Techno high-fived, Techno also shouting, “OOOOH, GET ROASTED, SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMP!!!”

Then George lifted his head up and groggily said, “H-hey, what’s going on?” And Dream had to admit, his sleepy voice was fucking adorable. ‘Course he had heard it before when they would sleep call, but that didn’t make it any less like music to his ears. 

A chorus of, “Go back to sleep George,” “Shhhhhhhhhh,” “It’S aLl A dReAm,” and “Inside voices everyone,” was followed by laughter that everyone tried to keep silent, as they split off, going to their rooms. This left Dream, George, Sapnap, and Karl in the room as Sapnap and Dream were too scared to move or wake up the other person. 

“Soooooooooo.” Sapnap started.

“Mhm.”

“Yeah.”

“Yep.” Dream popped the p, which then made the two of them dissolve into giggles.

“What do we do now?”

“Probably go to sleep.”

“Well yeah dumbass, but what do we do with-,” Sapnap then gestured to Karl and George.

“What do we do with our lovers? I don’t know, that’s a good question.”

“I-no-wha-K-Karl is **NOT** my lover, George can be your lover, that’s fine by me, but Karl is **NOT** my lover!”

“What do you mean I’m not your lover, you love me, don’t you Sapnap?” Karl turned his face to look at Sapnap, betrayal written all over it. “You love me don’t you?” Sapnap looked at a loss for words.

“I-yeah, ‘course I love you baby, now shhh go back to sleep.” Sapnap’s tone was unimaginably soft and so sweet it made Dream want to puke. 

Satisfied by Sapnap’s answer, Karl curled up with his head on Sapnap’s lap. 

“And you said that I was a blushing mess Sapnap, look at you, using the word “baby”.” Dream raised his eyebrows, which just made Sapnap murmur something in his defense and blush more, he was now running his hand through Karl’s hair and Dream could not wait to tease him about his in the morning when he had the energy to form coherent thoughts. 

They sat in silence for a long time before Dream broke it with, “D’you think I could carry George?”

“Probably, I’m making Karl wake up and walk to his own room though,” Sapnap responded, shaking the sleepyhead slightly, whispering, “Come on Karl, it’s time to get up, you’ve gotta go sleep in your room.”

“But you’re warm and I’m cozy and I don’t wanna move.”

“Karl-”

“No, I _don’t_ **wanna**.”

Sapnap sighed and began to stand up, Karl complaining and letting Sapnap lift him up. Then Karl wrapped his arm around Sapnap’s waist and used him to balance as they slowly made their way to Karl’s room.

Dream sighed, he was extraordinarily tired and was still shocked he hadn’t passed out sooner, though he wasn’t sad about it. If he had fallen asleep, he wouldn’t have gotten to cuddle with George. But he couldn’t keep this forever, as much as he wanted to. Slowly, he pried himself from George’s grasp, stood up, and stretched his arms over his head, before scooping George up and slowly making his way to their room.

He gently set George down on the bed, who was now semi-conscious, though Dream was sure he would remember none of this in the morning.

“ _Dreeeeeam_.”

“Yeah?”

“I need to brush my _teeeeeeeth_.”

“You can do that in the morning, just go to sleep Gogy.”

“M’kay, but what about pajamas?”

“You-You’re wearing your pajamas.”

“Oh, I am. That’s _cooooooooooool_.”

Dream chuckled, “You’re so tired Georgie, just go to sleep.”

As Dream walked away to go brush his teeth and use the toilet, George grabbed his hand.

“Where are you going _Claaaaay_? It’s sleepy time.”

“George,” Dream was determined to ignore the fact that George had used his real name, instead, sighing and asking, “How many drinks did you have?”

“I dunno.” 

“I have to go brush my teeth and use the toilet, George.”

“Noooooo, don’t leave me.” George was now giving him a sad puppy dog face that made Dream laugh as his heart did little flips at how fucking cute George was.

“I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Dream quickly did everything he needed to do, ignoring the mirror that _persistently_ reminded him of the blush that was drawn all over his face. If he had to fall in love with somebody, why did they have to be so fucking cute that it physically hurt!?!?! On the topic of love though, Dream had noted that Sapnap did not return to their room, making him inclined to believe he had fallen asleep with Karl. And oh, that was going to be fun to tease him about later.

He turned off the light and then got under the layers of covers, the heavy warmth of them so comforting. Snuggling down into his pillow, he could feel sleep nagging at his eyelids. But then he felt arms wrap around him, as George snuggled next to him complaining, “ _Claaaaaay_ , I’m _cooooooooold_.”

“Ok, ok, come here.” Dream wrapped his arms around George as well, savoring the feeling, the warmth, and comfort. He let himself run a hand through George’s hair, which made George giggle and turn his face to smile sleepily up at Dream. 

“G’night Dream.”

“Goodnight George.”

And Dream was just sat there thinking, did that really just happen? Did that really just _**fucking**_ happen? Did that mean something, or was George just a combination of delirious and tipsy? Would George normally do that if he had the courage or was that purely Dream’s mind overthinking things? Was there actually a sliver of a chance that George liked him back? Even indulging himself in that thought felt like too much. So he decided that that was a problem for future Dream, as current Dream needed to get some _fucking_ sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i LIVE for tired george in this
> 
> also next chap is going to be epic i have something rly fun planned!! (i think it'll be next chap) also i was gonna have dream kiss george's head but decided it seemed a bit fast so no kiss yet, just tooth-rotting fluff and tired cuddling!!! pls leave a comment, they give me life :)


	7. secrets and laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG *sighs* there is so much dialogue in this chapter, it's kinda unbelievable
> 
> also, the song in this chapter is Talk Too Much by Coin
> 
> here's the link to the Spotify playlist for this fic as well, https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RpRPL2USK5bhzozWL2HLl

_25th of December_

George woke up cuddled next to someone and his first thought was “ _Shit_.” And then it turned out that that person was Dream. Which **DID NOT** make the situation better. He remembered bits and pieces from last night, though he wished he didn’t. He remembered falling asleep next to Dream on the couch. Then he was in his room suddenly and Dream was trying to leave him. And somehow that had resulted in George cuddled up next to Dream, whose arms were wrapped around him.

Dream still seemed to be asleep though, so it was possible that George could escape this situation with some sanity. He carefully removed himself from Dream’s arms, immediately missing the warmth. Sliding off the bed, he threw a hoodie on over his pajamas, noticing that Sapnap wasn’t on his bed. Shrugging it off as the fact that he was probably already up, he quickly walked over to the door and got the hell out of that room. 

Blinking his eyes as he quietly closed the door behind him, not wanting to wake Dream, he saw that it was snowing. The sun turned the snowy landscape outside the window into a sparkly heaven, glistening and white. It looked so peaceful and serene, George was sad that he couldn’t see it in its full glory, due to his colorblindness.

Sighing, he quietly padded down the stairs and into the living room, which was an absolute mess. He was not in the mood to pick up the trash, board games, and piles of blankets, so he walked straight to the kitchen, getting himself a bowl of cereal and sitting down at the dining room table. He appeared to be the only one up, due to the soft silence that covered the house. So, where was Sapnap? Sighing, he shoved another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

It was Christmas. One of the first ones he hadn’t spent with his biological family. ‘Course he missed them, but it was nice to be with his other family. 

“Good morning George.”

“Morning Niki. Did you sleep well?”

Niki hummed in response as she grabbed an apple and sat down next to him.

“Who’d you get for Secret Santa?” George asked, “I got Tommy, and Dream insisted that I get him Cat and Mellohi on records. Because we _definitely_ need a disc war in real life.”

Niki giggled, “I got Sapnap, but I traded with Techno and got Will instead.”

“I got Dream!”

George and Niki’s heads both snapped to the voice, seeing Quackity yawning underneath the arch that opened into the kitchen.

“Good for you, you don’t need to announce it to the world though, it’s supposed to be a surprise,” George said, rolling his eyes at Quackity.

“Aww come on Gogy,” He put on a ridiculous voice, “I thought you’d be more jealous, don’t you want to know what I got your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” George muttered, standing up and going to make coffee, he was too tired to deal with this.

“You sure about that? You spent a loooooooooooooong time cuddling on the couch last night.” Sapnap sounded so smug as he stumbled into the kitchen behind Quackity.

“Oh, shut up Snapnap, you’re the one who called Karl “baby” _**and**_ stayed over in his room last night, you really can’t talk.” Dream walked into the room, punching Sapnap in the arm and plopping himself down on the ground.

George’s face lit up, “Wait did he really call Karl “baby”?”

“Yep!”

“No fucking way!” Quackity screamed, “Sapnap, is this true?!?!”

Sapnap just groaned as he sat down at the dining room table, burying his head in his hands, as everyone burst into “oooohs” and “awwwws”.

Then Karl walked in and everyone went silent. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Everyone looked at Karl, then Sapnap, then each other, and burst into laughter. 

“What?” Karl looked distraught at this point. “George. Why you are guys laughing? What’s the joke? George?”

George descended further into a laughing fit, slowly sliding down the fridge and onto the floor, hugging his stomach. 

Everyone else chose that moment to enter the kitchen. Tommy, Wilbur, Tubbo, Eret, Techno, Ant, Alyssa, Bad, Skeppy, Phil, and Fundy walked in, promptly stopping their conversation and looking at the laughing mess of people.

“So.......,” Fundy said, “Mind sharing the joke?”

“Yeah what so funny?” Tommy looked confused and mildly concerned, “Normally if you guys are laughing this hard it’s because of something I said, but I haven’t even spoken yet today.”

“And that’s a first,” Wilbur said, earning him a punch from Tommy and a chuckle from Techno.

“I wish I knew what was so _incredibly hilarious_ , but I suppose I’m just _cursed_ to live without that knowledge.” Karl looked annoyed.

“Le-let’s have breakfast,” Niki said, leaning on the table and walls as she slowly made her way over to the kitchen. She helped George up and everyone began setting up for breakfast. Food, plates, glasses, silverware, and napkins all get set up on the table, only 3 things being broke in the process. This was a great improvement from yesterday’s 11 broken plates and 8 broken glasses, all courtesy of Tommy and Fundy somehow.

Everyone started up conversations as they passed the food around, talking about animals, Secret Santas, and how weird bones are. George got roped into a conversation about tears.

“Tears are water right?” Tubbo asked, stuffing his face with a cinnamon roll.

“Yes......why?” Phil responded, pouring himself some orange juice.

“But like, why does it hurt when you get water from a pool or the ocean or something into your eyes but tears don’t hurt?” Tubbo questioned.

“Maybe because it comes from your eye?” Eret said.

Tommy went into a monotone voice, “The pain is paid on the inside, the hurt, the suffering, the sadness.”

“You good Tommy?” Wilbur said.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Tommy tried to put a bit of cinnamon roll in his mouth but hit his cheek instead and he looked incredibly offended.

“N-no reason at all,” Wilbur responded, repressing laughter.

“Yeah but what about when you cry from happiness or laughter, where’s the pain then?” Antfrost jumped in.

“You’ve _never_ been so happy it hurts? Have you even lived?” Skeppy looked concerned as he peeled an orange.

“Skeppy, when have you ever been so happy it hurts?” Bad said.

“I mean, when yo - **no** , nevermind, nothing!” Skeppy started and then quickly cut himself off, blushing.

“Skeppy~, what about Bad?” Ant teased.

“Fuck off Ant.”

“ _ **Skeppy**_ , language!” Bad shouted.

“The language I’m speaking is English, I’m relatively sure that you speak it as well.” 

“No - Skeppy!”

“What?” Skeppy said, laughing.

“Laughing can be pretty painful, we learned that today.” Ant said, hiccupping.

“Yeah, why were you guys laughing at me?” 

“No reason, Karl,” George said.

“Why, oh, why do I not believe you?” Karl spread his arms out as if to prove a point.

“Just shut up and eat your ham.” Dream said. 

“Wha-no, I will _**not**_ shut up and eat my ham. In fact, I’m going to sit here in silence not eating my ham until you tell me what you were laughing at.” Karl straightened his back and glared down at his ham for about 10 seconds before shoving it in his mouth.

“All men do is **lie**.” Techno chuckled.

“Shut up, it’s really good and I have bad self-control!”

“I’m glad you like it, Karl!”

“It’s really really good Niki!” Karl said, his anger quickly turned to happiness.

“Tubbo and Eret helped make it!” 

“And me!” Wilbur said.

“And Will.”

“And I bought everything.” Dream said.

“Yes, the little pissbaby contributed slightly, I suppose,” Wilbur muttered in a silly voice.

Dream faked being offended as he dramatically fell onto George’s lap, throwing his hands over his head and smacking George in the face whilst saying, “Oh how could you, I’m so offended, I shall never rise again!”

“I thought you said nothing offended you,” George said, looking down at the man on his lap, trying so hard not to blush.

“I have limits, Georgie.”

“Mhm, sure.”

George reached across the table and picked up a roll that he quickly stuffed into his mouth, causing crumbs to fall onto Dream.

“Hey watch your eating, you’re getting crumbs on me!” Dream still made no attempt to move.

“Well, you’re the one who’s lying on my lap, if you just wanted to cuddle you could have said something Dream.”

“I- **no** -we-ugh….” Dream trailed off into silence and George noticed that his face was considerably red.

“Aww, Dream, are you blushing~?”

“No, I’m _**not**_ blushing!” Dream sat up, pulling his knees to his chest and hiding his face. Sapnap, of course, found this beyond hilarious.

“Yes, Dream you _**are**_ blushing, oh this is a rarity! Now George, wrap your arms around him.”

“Sapnap, if I did that he would probably explode.”

Sapnap doubled over in laughter. Then Dream raised his head, glancing from Sapnap to Karl and then back to Sapnap, which immediately shut him up. 

“Alright, something is _definitely_ going on here, everybody spill,” Karl said, setting down the chocolate pudding he was eating.

“Hey, why don’t we go do the Secret Santa thing now?” Sapnap hurriedly stood up, grabbing all his dishes. 

“Agreed.”

“Brilliant idea.”

George and Dream said, following him as they clambered over people, quickly getting out of there and swiftly walked to the living room after dumping their dishes in the sink.

“ _ **Dream**_ , I swear to god!” Sapnap started once they were out of hearing range from the people in the kitchen.

“What, you did all of that last night and you expect me to **not** tease you about it?” 

“What happened last night?” George asked, tired of not knowing the full story, even though he knew it had something to do with him and Dream.

Sapnap began smirking, but Dream slapped his hand over Sapnap’s mouth and said, “Nothing.”

“Mhm, _suuuuuuuuuuuure_.” George said, raising his eyebrows.

Dream was about to say something when he was interrupted by music.

_You know I talk too much_

_Honey, come put your lips on mine and shut me up_

_We could blame it all on human nature_

_Stay cool, it’s just a kiss_

_Oh, why you gotta be so talkative_

_I talk too much, we talk too much_

Everyone swarmed in from the kitchen blasting the song over the Bluetooth speaker, screaming the lyrics, which they all somehow knew, and spinning each other around. George just prayed that no one threw up. Once the dancing had settled down, everyone gathered into a circle-like shape.

“Alright, you two, go get the presents, they’re all up in your closet.” Techno pointed to Dream and George, who, sighing and exasperated, made their way towards the stairs.

“Maybe, when we get back, you can _actually_ be playing Christmas music.” Dream directed this towards Sapnap, who seemed to be in control of the music.

“I’ll consider it, but only if you and George get back here quickly, no closet make-out session.”

“Oh, fuck off Sapnap!” George said, grabbing the nearest throwable object, which happened to be someone’s sneaker. It missed Sapnap by a long shot.

“You need to improve your aim Gogy.”

“And _you_ need to ask Karl out already,” Geroge muttered under his breath, just so that Dream could hear him. Dream chuckled and said, loudly enough so that Sapnap could hear, “We don’t tell Sapnap that though because we're supportive friends, aren’t we Georgie?” 

“I mean, I _guess_.”

“Wha- are you two talking shit about me? What are you sayin-” Sapnap was cut off by Dream closing the door to their bedroom and the two of them giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so skeppy, being so happy it hurts is called love.........quick chapter, there will be more soon!! pls leave a comment, i love reading them, they give me serotonin and motivation, two things i severely lack! 
> 
> also thank you so much for over 1k hits and over 100 kudos, it rly means the world to me <3<3<3


	8. sapnap's pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooo..........here's another very short chapter right after the last one, i did say that there was gonna be another one very soon. sapnap's pov. this is purely me projecting onto sapnap as im currently dealing with some of my friends who are doing this and it is driving me up a wall omfg

_25th of December_

Sapnap had read fanfictions before and something that always caught his eye was how fucking _oblivious_ the two people in love always were. It seemed insane, unrealistic, and not possible. But as he watched Dream and George’s interactions over these few days, he understood.

That didn’t make the fact that he knew that they liked each other any easier to deal with. The past few years had taught him so much patients. Every day he became more and more sure that George liked Dream back, (he was now 6969% sure), but Dream’s oblivious ass just wanted to sit in sorrow about his _“unrequited love”_. How much longer he would be able to keep quiet he wasn’t sure, he kinda just wanted to put them in a room, scream the truth at them and then leave. 

It was exhausting, watching them flirt and then blush, telling themselves that _“oh no, this person who constantly flirts with me and is romantic with me has no capacity to love me as anything more than a friend.”_ Sapnap really wanted to punch himself in his face, or maybe Dream and Geroge. He loved his two best friends to death, but this was really starting to get annoying. 

He stretched his arms over his head, he was sat between Callahan and Eret. Dream and Geroge were taking longer than they should have, there were only 18 presents. If they had actually started making out, Sapnap would be _beyond_ relieved, though he knew that the chance of that happening with the stupidity between the two was incredibly low. Still, one could hope.

He heard Karl laugh and his head immediately snapped towards the sound. It brought him such happiness. He really should take his own advice when it came to Karl. Did he want to though.............no, not really. So was he gonna........no. He could be a hypocrite for this **one** thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super short, just needed a little self-projecting chapter, pls leave a comment, i adore reading them<3<3


	9. is it too soon?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'm sick. yay. i hate being sick. also, George doesn't have his EnChroma glasses yet in this fic, hint, hint.

_25th of December_

“Well, I’ve already got a headache. And we haven’t even streamed yet.”

“Oh just wait.”

Dream chuckled and walked over to the hooks, grabbing one of the many green hoodies on it and pulling it on. In the process of this, his shirt rode up a bit, revealing some of his skin and George would be forever thankful that this was a ski trip, not a beach trip. 

Dream opened the closet and several presents tumbled out. He grabbed a laundry basket and began scooping them up and setting them inside. George went to get another container to move them into and they worked silently side by side. Their hands would occasionally touch, which would cause George’s face to temporarily heat up. He _really_ hated being in love. 

He wondered if Dream knew that they had been cuddling. He didn’t remember if they had been cuddling before they had fallen asleep, or had somehow moved to that while asleep. His head hurt just thinking about it. It hurt to think about what these things might mean, and if he was overthinking, or underthinking, and in the end, he just ended up giving up on thinking in general. What had it ever done for him anyway? With his anxiety, definitely nothing good.

“Earth to George, earth to George.”

George jolted back to reality at the sound of Dreams soft voice. 

“You good?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just zoned out a bit sorry.”

Dream smiled softly, “It’s fine, you ready to go back downstairs?”

George nodded in response and Dream helped him up, pulling him into a hug as well. George sighed, ‘course Dream had to go around, further complicating the equation in his head by hugging him. George leaned into the hug though, feeling Dream’s arms tighten around him, and he felt so safe. Safe from his head, his thoughts, the world, and everything confusing. Sure it ended, but George had a soft blush on his face and a comforting fluttering feeling in his chest. 

As they came back down the stairs, Sapnap was the first to notice their reappearance.

“What took you guys so long, what were you doing up there? It must have gotten _steamy_ ‘cause George, your face.”

George set his basket of presents down and picked up Wilbur's whale plush. It successfully made contact with Sapnap’s face and caused him to fall backward in surprise.

“Ow, alright, alright, there’s no need to get violent! Let’s just open presents in peace.”

Sighing, Geroge joined the circle, and presents were passed out. He got a small box. Fundy, who was to the left of him started, meaning he would be going last. Everyone got some really cool stuff, Wilbur got an anteater plush from Niki, which he threw across the room and also cuddled. George did not and would never understand Wilbur's relationship with anteaters. 

Tommy had very much liked George’s gift of the two records, immediately squinting at Dream and then going to hide them. He tried to keep track of who had gotten who what but his mind was just **not** enjoying existing today. And then it was finally his turn. Everyone’s eyes seemed to be on him, more so than anyone else and George had the feeling that everyone knew what was inside this box.

“Alright, is it a prank?”

“No, George just open it,” Dream said, appearing to be bouncing slightly.

“Why are you guys staring at me so intently?”

“We’re not, open it!” Dream now had a large, nervous, goofy smile that lit up his face and it was so _fucking_ cute, Geroge was proud of himself for not dropping dead.

“Yes, you're all staring at me, you’re freaking me out, stop!”

“Georgie, come on, open it!” Dream was now giggling slightly.

“Ok, ok.”

He slowly began to take the wrapping paper off and he could feel excitement buzzing all around him. He opened the box and it was.....glasses? He lifted them out of the box, confused. Why would someone give him glasses? He had perfectly good eyesight, except for the colorblindness but you couldn’t have glasses for tha- wait, could you?

“Put them on George.”

Slowly, he slid them onto his face. At first, he didn’t notice much of a difference, but then, he could slowly see the colors separate and he could see which was which.

“Wow.”

The wood was darker, he assumed because he could now see red. Everything seemed to have different shades. It was fascinating. And green, he could see green. The Christmas tree was green, green was darker than yellow! Green was vibrant, it seemed so alive. He started laughing, he could see the colors! The candy canes, they were red and white, that’s what everyone said. Red, red was fascinating. It was warm and rich. Purple, purple was new. It looked like a cooler red, kinda like a richer blue too. 

“Do you like them?”

George was snapped back to reality by Dream’s voice. He nodded in response, at a loss for words. He hadn’t been able to see this, ever. He stood up, looking around in circles in wonderment. Outside. He wanted to go outside. He grabbed Dream’s arm, pulling him up and dragging him towards the door. He quickly threw his shoes on and opened the door, stopping dead in his tracks. It was so bright. The colors all seemed so much more balanced and clean. They weren’t muddy.

“What does it look like?” Dream was stood next to him, a soft smile on his face.

“Different.”

He ran off, gesturing for Dream to follow him as he went around, looking at things.

“That’s green.”

“Yep!”

“And that’s, wait, what’s that?”

“That’s pink.”

“It’s like a lighter red.”

“Pretty much yeah.”

“And you,” George said, “You’re green too!”

“Yeah, my hoodie is.”

George stared intently at Dream’s hoodie, not daring to look up at his face. He was overwhelmed enough, he wasn’t sure he could handle a gay panic in full color yet. Instead, he grabbed Dream’s hand and began dragging him around, asking about colors. After about 15 minutes of this, they were back in the front of the house, still holding hands. George was feeling confident and also wanted to say thank you, but he didn’t quite trust himself to talk about anything other than colors yet. So he pulled Dream into a hug. 

“Sooooo, you like them?” Dream asked, wrapping his arms around George.

“I _love_ them,” George murmured into Dream's hoodie. 

“I’m glad.”

George, still hugging Dream, moved his head so that he could see the other man's face. Dream had apparently already been looking at him, so their eyes met. George hadn’t gotten a good look at Dream yet with the glasses, but _**damn**_. If he had thought Dream was cute before, it was nothing compared to now. His eyes, George’s breath got caught in his throat. They were _beautiful_. Then Dream looked away, blushing. But George could _see_ it! He could _see_ the pinkish tint on his skin. It was gorgeous, everything about Dream just kept getting better and better.

“Don’t look away, I want to see your eyes.” George gently tipped Dream’s chin back towards him and stared into the gorgeous rich green. They weren’t yellow anymore, he could see now. He could see how Dream’s red lips stretched into a soft smile. He could see the blush darken. He could see how his eyes sparkled as he said, “You’re so cute, George.” 

He could see how Dream’s lips slow lowered down and touched gently against his forehead, so soft. George could feel his face burst into flames and he knew, with or without the glasses, he was blushing. Then George buried his head back in Dreams chest, vowing to never come out again. George’s mind had officially died. What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened. **Dream** had _kissed_ him. On his forehead. And that just didn’t commute with George’s head. His love? Being _reciprocated_? Or was it? Was it a kiss in friendship? Was that a thing? What if Dream actually liked him back? But Dream was straight? Right? _Right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooo....did u guys like it? i think it's a good way to end Christmas day. also, i know that EnChroma glasses dont allow the person to see colors like we do, they just allow them to differentiate them (i think) so this isn't very realistic but fuck it, i want a cute kiss scene with George seeing Dream's eyes properly, so im gonna make that happen, i control this world!!
> 
> pls leave a comment, i live for reading them, they give me motivation!!<3


	10. right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i watched an hour of vines and then edited this chapter. it is currently midnight. im sick and have school tomorrow. i regret my life decisions :)
> 
> TW:// panic attack, takes up a good amount of this chapter, read with caution if this effect you <3

_25th of December_

The rest of the day was a blur for George, he barely remembered it, his mind was in a daze-like state. Neither him nor Dream talked about what had happened, which was both comforting and worrying. They ate lunch, leftovers, as that was what made up the entire fridge. The stream happened. He had been unusually quiet, despite it all being focused on him. He got to wear the glasses in Minecraft and see the proper colors of the game he held so dearly to his heart. He should have been energetic, but he was having trouble even keeping a smile up, his head was not working. The stream had picked up on this, and George blamed it on a headache, saying all the new colors were just too much. He had excused himself and went to go lay down.

He did have a headache, whether it was from the colors or Dream, he wasn’t sure. He took a panadol before flopping down on his bed, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. His mind briefly wondered what it would be like if Dream was there too. Next to him, holding him, comforting him. Those thoughts were wrong though. Right? Just because Dream had kissed him didn’t mean that he could just freely think these things. George wished, so bad, that Dream would talk to him about it.

But George wasn’t gonna bring it up either. What if it made Dream nervous, he didn’t want to scare him away. What if he was just overthinking everything? That was the most likely option. Right? Warm tears slowly fell out of his eyes, silently. They had been held there for _so_ long. All the built-up frustration, confusion, loneliness, anxiety, everything. It just came pouring out. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it close, letting it absorb his tears. It must have been one of Dream’s pillows as it smelt like him. That comforted George while also making him cry even harder. 

He was trying to be as quiet as possible, not knowing when they would stop streaming and whether or not someone would come to check on him. He really didn’t want to explain this to anyone. He didn’t even understand it himself, how the **fuck** he supposed to explain it to someone? He just wanted to forget. To not think about any of this. To wait till it made sense. Though, _realistically_ , he knew running wouldn’t help. But he was so tired of dealing with it all. He was allowed to escape, even if it was just for a bit. Right?

It ate him up inside though. It consumed his mind. Everywhere it was just Dream, **Dream** , _Dream_ , _**Dream**_! He stood up, he couldn’t fucking take it! It was so loud. His head was now slowly processing things and it was _painful_. The big acts that Dream did, the kiss, the hugs, the cuddles, the flirting. The little things that Dream did, the kindness, the thoughtfulness, the caring, all these things he took to another level for George. And his head finally wrapped itself around all these things, realizing what they might mean. 

But they were so loud. Screaming at George. Screaming for attention now that he could see them. He gripped his head, dropping to the floor and scooting up against the cold wall, trying desperately to focus on his breathing. His head couldn’t even complete his thoughts, as fragments of ideas, concepts, and conclusions whizzed by, not slowing enough for him to focus on them or understand them.

His mind reached around, trying to find something concrete to hold onto. Something sure. Something to stop him from spiraling. Spiraling into this endless abyss. He felt like he was spinning, yet his legs were tucked against his chest, his arms holding them steady while he hid his head. It was so much. It was _too_ much. His breath was getting more and more rapid, what was happening?!?! Was he dying? He didn’t want to die!

Then a wave of calm slammed over him. Everything just seemed to still, his body stopped shaking and he still felt like shit, but he could think. Then Dream’s voice broke through. Memories flooded his head, echoing and bouncing around, overlapping each other.

“Sorry, I should have specified, you like attention from me.” 

“Gogy, I love you, why can’t you say it back?”

“We weren’t making out!” “But you would have preferred it.”

“Awww, George, you’re so cute when you’re angry!”

“Did you fall for me~?”

“Why so eager to get away from me? Is it cause I make you blush~?”

“If you wanna kiss something so badly, I’m always here!”

“Aww, so desperate to hear my voice, Georgie?”

“You’re staring.”

“You’re so easy to fluster Georgie.”

“I’m sure that’s the reason, Georgie.”

“You’re so cute, George.”

_“You’re so cute, George.”_

And it all just clicked. His head put in the final piece of the puzzle. It made sense. Dream loved him. As something other than a friend. And he loved Dream. He _loved_ Dream. No, he loved Clay. And Clay loved him back. He was sure, well, pretty sure.

And he was also pretty sure that he was incredibly tired. He would deal with the whole Dream possibly liking him back situation when he was better rested. He did not want to risk falling back into whatever the hell had just happened back there. It was not fun. Pulling himself back into the bed, he rolled over to Dream’s spot. It felt safe over here. He had a plan. Well, sort of. But it was comforting none the less. He immediately passed out, cuddled up under the blankets and among the many pillows. Tears dried on his cheeks as his eyelids closed over the irritated pink eyes that had cried too many tears today.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

George’s plan was simple. Talk to Sapnap. Give him a summary of everything except for George’s suspicion of Dream liking him back. If Dream didn’t like him back, then hopefully Sapnap would feel able of letting George down if he thought he didn’t have any kind of hope. This way, he had someone else to talk to this about. He could get a bit more information, a second opinion. Then figure out what to do from there.

A few hours after falling asleep, George was shaken awake. 

“George, wake up.”

“Mhm, happy potato day to you too, I suppose.”

“No, _George_.”

His eyes slid in and out of focus as he sat up, rubbing them. They felt swollen. He really hated crying. Sapnap was stood in front of him, looking slightly annoyed. 

“Good morning dickhead, did you get all your beauty sleep?”

George panicked, it was the next morning? “It’s already the 26th?!?”

“No, I was messing with you, it’s dinner time, on the 25th, Christmas, the day after Christmas Eve, this ringing any bells?”

“Oh shut up.”

“If your royal ass would be so kind as to join us, I’m sure Dream would be _very_ happy.”

“Actually on the topic of Dream, could I talk to you about something?” George began playing with the blanket and he couldn’t quite meet Sapnap’s eyes.

Sapnap’s face immediately became serious as he nodded, plopping himself down on the bed next to him. “Sure, what do we need to talk about?”

George sighed, gathering all of his confidence, “So, earlier when Dream and I went outside with the glasses, we looked at all the stuff outside right, but then, before we were gonna go inside, I hugged him and somehow that ended up with us staring into each other’s eyes. And then...........he.......he _kissed_ me Sapnap. On the forehead. And I know this might be out of nowhere, but I kinda - I’m in lo - I like him, ok. I’m bisexual, by the way. And I just don’t know what this means. He’s flirted with me before but I just assumed that that was all memes. But then he kissed me and I just don’t know any other way to take that. And I just wanted to get your input on this matter, I’m really fucking lost. So...does this mean he likes me back?”

“Does - I……George, he kissed you. And you’re asking me whether or not this means that he likes you back?”

“......Yes.”

Sapnap sighed and closed his eyes, before standing up, sighing very exasperatedly before swiftly walking out of the room.

“Sapnap wha - **where** are you going?” George was confused and panic was slowly rising through him, did he do something wrong? He followed Sapnap out of the room, he seemed to be making beeline for the door. Sapnap threw on a coat and boots before screaming out to the house whilst annoyingly glaring at George,

“Goodbye everyone, I’m going for a walk, as I can not deal with the levels of pure _stupidity_ in this household. The idiocy and oblivion are blowing my mind and I must go freeze to death before I can handle this shit again.” Then he opened the door and left into the night, leaving George standing in the living room with a bunch of questions. He whispered to himself, “Well, that still doesn’t answer my question. Cause it really depends, what am I oblivious to?” Then he sighed and went to go join everyone at dinner, avoiding the odd stares and questions, most of which came from Dream.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was pretty late and George was still awake, despite the comfortable bed. He was feeling risky. He knew Dream was still awake as well. He could feel him tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. So he turned around, his and Dream’s faces inches apart now. Their eyes caught again. George couldn’t see the proper color anymore, but he remembered it, the color burned into his mind. Dream smiled softly at him and began turning slowly to face the other way.

_“Wait.”_

Dreams face snapped back, looking curious, nervous, and as gorgeous as always. George scooted forwards, snuggling right against Dream, he fit perfectly. He heard Dream sharply inhale before quickly wrapping his arms around George, pulling him closer, as if he never wanted to let go. Their legs tangled together in a mess as George buried his face in Dream’s chest.

“You’re so _clingy_ Georgie.”

“Oh shut up, you’re warm. Plus, I know you like it too.”

Dream murmured a shut up in response.

 _“You didn’t deny it,”_ George smirked into Dream chest, feeling the other man sigh dramatically. 

Then he whispered, “Why would I? I love you, George.”

George’s heart rate picked up. Did he confess now, tell Dream how he felt? Because that was definitely laced with love and not the platonic kind. But Sapnap hadn’t really given him any answer, avoiding him after dinner and immediately going to sleep. So, he still wasn’t 100% sure that Dream liked him back. He had been quiet for a long time though, he had to say something. 

“Oh sure Dream, just go to sleep.”

Dream chuckled in response, and George thought it sounded kinda sad. Though that was probably him just overthinking everything and pushing the narrative the way he wanted it to go. Right? George sighed, settling to do something else to hopefully help get his emotions out. He waited until he was sure Dream was asleep. Or, until George was tiptoeing on the edge of sleep himself. It felt like a very long time. Then he whispered, “I love you too Clay.”

And then fell asleep, curled up in Dream’s arms. Who was definitely asleep...........right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it only gets gayer from here. dream pov next and its gonna be chaos!!! pls leave a comment, i adore reading them! <3
> 
> I have a tumblr (ill probably never post but i made a social media account and that in itself is an achievement for my introverted ass, u can message me if u want): https://sarcasticpotatoe.tumblr.com/
> 
> spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RpRPL2USK5bhzozWL2HLl?si=wPze6-9fTOiMI0D0o1IWzg


	11. but does he actually love me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends!! i haven't updated in a while, let just say that this week..........happened. 
> 
> this took me so fucking long to write and yet it's like 2k words. also, it's _still_ christmas day. you'll figure out the timeline, its a bit confusing at first tho....

_25th of December_

Dream had a problem. Dream had several problems actually. And all of them included George. The man who he had kissed earlier. The man who was cuddled against his chest. And he was kinda freaking out about the whole situation. 

George was definitely asleep, Dream was sure of that. Despite the fact that his eyes were closed, Dream was still very awake though. His anxiety and ADHD were acting up, he wanted to move, he needed to move. But he didn’t want to wake George. So he sat in his confusion. Why the _fuck_ had he kissed him? He had no idea if George felt the same way. He thought he did, but couldn’t be sure, he was so scared of making him uncomfortable. 

The kiss had kinda been a spree of the moment thing. George was being fucking adorable and Dream's heart couldn't take it, as he was wandering around and squealing at all the colors. It was going to make Dream’s heart explode. He was so happy he had gotten George for Secret Santa and even happier that he had chosen to get him the glasses. 

After George had pulled him around for 15 minutes being the cutest fucking thing alive, he had pulled him into a hug.

The hug was a thank you, Dream knew that. He knew George was speechless, overwhelmed and that hug was the best way he could put his feelings to words. So Dream had tried to put his feeling to words using actions as well. His love for George, how much he cared about him, how much he wanted to hold him, to be with him forever, for them to live in this snowy wonderland, flirting and dodging, and maybe, **just** maybe, becoming something more.

So he had kissed him on the forehead. And Dream wanted to bang _his_ forehead against something just thinking about it. His head was screaming the whole time he was doing it. _**Why**_ , you stupid fucking idiot, **why** would you do that, _why_? He hoped George would take initiative after that, Dream was kinda shell shocked and didn’t trust his legs to move or his mouth speak. But George had just hugged him tighter, blushing an unbelievable amount before walking back inside. 

He had hoped that George would give him a definite answer, a yes or a no. Kiss him on the lips, say that he loved him, something, anything that would give Dream confirmation. So that he could stop spiraling, stop tumbling down this endless pit. Or even a no. Sure that would’ve broken his heart, left him dying on the floor, sadness seeping through his veins, but this unknown, this pain, this confusion, this was far worse. George just constantly left him there hanging, hanging on by a string. He was so tired of not knowing.

He wanted to cry, to scream, to let it all out. But he didn’t want to wake George, so he stayed as still as a rock. George after the kiss had seemed…distracted. He kept glancing at Dream, blushing randomly, messing around with objects, like he did when he was nervous. He wasn’t focused, especially during the stream. Trailing off in the middle of his sentences, staring off into space, blushing, and distracting the fuck out of Dream to the point where when he returned from getting water, he almost walked in front of the camera. That had been terrifying. He still wasn’t sure if George was acting this way because; one: he liked Dream back and was freaking out over the kiss. Two: George hated him for it and was confused and uncomfortable. Or three: if George had just seen that as a normal, friendly, _platonic_ thing, he was **beyond** oblivious after all. All of this could just be from seeing colors for the first time. Dream could just be overthinking this all. But he didn’t know. And that was so fucking horrible.

Then George had said he wasn’t feeling well and Dream’s stomach dropped. He said the colors had been a lot and he was quite overwhelmed and needed to go lie down. Dream just wanted to make him feel better, wanted to make any pain go away, wanted to fully understand because he _knew_ that that was not the only thing bothering him. But he let George go. He let him disappear with nothing out of his mouth other than a “Rest well!”

He was tempted to go up to their room, to talk to him, to cuddle him, to tell him everything would be ok. But he knew George needed his space, needed time alone. So he let him go. Now that he was looking back on the memory, he was also _slightly_ exasperated with himself, _he_ was making this big of a deal over a **headache**!?! He cared so fucking much about George that a **headache** was the end of the world. He really was such a simp, he thought, feeling George nestle even closer to him, still sound asleep, his head tucked in Dream’s neck, Dream’s arms wrapped around him. It felt safe here. He felt safe.

Dinner. Dinner was the next thing his head wanted to over-analyze. Dinner had been bizarre. Sapnap had been sent to go grab George, who had slept a very long time. But Sapnap didn’t return to the table, much to Karl’s sadness Dream was sure. He had yelled something about stupidity, oblivion, and freezing to death before slamming the door. Then George had walked into the room, looking very sheepish and annoyed. 

He ignored all questions, shrugging them off and redirecting the conversation. To the stream, to presents, to anything really. Sapnap had returned, very visibly taking a large deep breath before plopping himself down and jumping into eating. Then they had fallen into a conversation about who knows what, Dream sure as hell wasn’t paying attention. He watched George, the way his hair fell, the way his eyes sparkled as he made fun of Tommy, the way he carefully picked the strings off his corn, the way he held his wine glass that was full of water as he dramatically made a toast to Wilbur. The way his smile grew as he laughed at someone’s horrid joke. His laugh in general was just music to Dream’s ears. It was gorgeous.

That moment had been precious. Then Sapnap had noticed Dream staring and pointed it out, as he did. Dream was able to eyeroll everyone else’s remarks. But one thing stuck out. Normally during this, George would just giggle and blush, maybe jump in with a quick quip. But not today apparently. 

“Ooh Dream, you like what you see? Come and get some.”

His head had fully stopped functioning at that point. It was slightly sexual, it was _definently_ romantic, it was flirtatious, it was _definitely not_ platonic. His head _still_ tried to find a way for it to not be flirting, for it to just be a joke. No one else seemed to notice what George had said, was he hallucinating? Sapnap definitely would have pointed that out, definitely would have drawn it out, teasing and joking. But he seemed to have gone deaf. Was Dream so desperate for George that he was now hearing things?

He sighed in his head, not wanting to make even the smallest sound and accidentally wake George up. He knew that George struggled with sleep. He did too, but not as bad as George. It was one of the main reasons George slept through so many SMP events actually, he was constantly trying to chase sleep. Dream was honestly surprised that George had fallen asleep so quickly. Perhaps it was from cuddling with Dream, though he knew that that was slightly selfish. If that was the reason though, Dream would happily move to England just so he could cuddle with George everything night. Dream would do pretty much anything to cuddle with George every night, who was he kidding?

He could feel George rustle ever so slightly and he remained still. He could feel George’s lips brush against his neck and had to fight a blush, this was really unfair. He pulled George even closer if that were possible. He was so warm and so small, so human. Dream could hold him so easily. He also still had a hard time believing that George had initiated this. Actually, come to think of it, George was the one who initiated all of their cuddling. Except for maybe on the ski lift. Dream had done that. And he was still proud of the fact that he was able to make George that flustered.

He had been so cute. But George was always _so_ fucking cute. His cheeks, his smile, his hair, his face in general, and his lips. He could feel him softly breathing on his neck. He was so asleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So…………George _wasn’t_ asleep apparently!?!? Dream was able to gather this from the fact that George had just whispered, “I love you, Clay.” And Dream was going to casually die now. He was pretty sure he was hallucinating again. His head hurt so bad from overthinking this. Did…did George actually love him? 

He groaned in frustration. _Why_ , **oh** _why_ did he have to fall in love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, his name is my name too, whenever we go out, the people always shout, JohnJacobJingleheimerSchmift, DA DA DA DA DA DA!!!!!!
> 
> i fucking hate my head, thoughts go brrrrrrrrr. we're coming up on 20k words in this fic, that's wow.
> 
> also, i promise next chapter they will talk about shit, i promise. i adored all of your comments on the last chapter, they were hilarious, please leave more, i live for them!!<3


	12. sooooooo.........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to google docs for changing sapnap's name to subpoena every. single. fucking. time. i. type. it. its another short chapter. im sorry, ive just rly had no motivation to write, hopefully that will change soon, cause even i want the conclusion to this drama. on that note, i _know_ i said they would talk _but_.........

_26th of December_

George woke up cuddled in Dream’s arms, his head buried in the crook of his neck. It was so warm and safe and soft and cozy. He could feel Dream shifting around slightly, he was sighing and murmuring to himself, though George was too groggy to make out the words. He was awake. Why hadn’t he just gotten up and left George? Not that George was complaining or anything, but it just didn’t add up. Why would he willingly stay here, this wasn’t exactly platonic. His lips were brushing against Dream’s neck, while his arms wrapped around George’s body, pulling him impossibly closer. Their legs were a tangled mess. 

Why would he do this, it just didn’t make sense? Unless..... No. But mayb- **no**. Was......was it possible that Dream liked him back? .......Wait. He’d come to the same conclusion yesterday, hadn’t he? He groaned, pulling himself away from Dream slightly, forgetting he was pretending to be asleep. 

Dream immediately stopped muttering to himself and instead starred at George before smiling and softly saying, “Hey. Good morning Georgie. Did you sleep well?”

George had to physically stop himself from swooning over Dream’s morning voice, cause _**damn!**_ He then loosened his grip around George slightly so that he could slide away if he wanted to. George **did not** want to. Instead, he buried his head in the crook of Dream’s neck again, breathing in the way he smelled before responding, “Slept great.”

Dream just hummed in response, one of his hands moving up to George's hair as he began to slowly running his fingers his hair. George could feel himself blushing. “Why do I not believe you?”

George sighed, “No I actually slept well, surprisingly.”

Dream let out a single giggle, his hand still playing with George’s hair, “Was it because I was cuddling you?”

George smirked, though he knew dream couldn’t see it, “Maybe, we'll never know unless we try it again though.”

Towards the end he made his voice slightly lower, having some kind of desire to tease and mess with Dream. But then he felt the hand in his hair slow to a stop and immediately panicked. Had he gone too far? Was he reading the situation wrong? Did Dream.......not like him back? He moved his head so that he was looking up at Dream, the words of an apology on the tip of his tongue.

But they died as he saw the blush that dusted Dream’s cheeks. He was flustered. Dream was flustered. _Dream_ was flustered. And George…… George had done that. Dream looked down at him and he was very aware of how little space was between them. 

“Did you mean that?”

“Well......do you want me to mean that?”

“Yes.”

He saw Dream’s eyes flick down to his lips as he leaned closer, leaving the smallest gap between the two, for George to fill if he chose to. George leaned in and-

“GUYS WE HAVE AN ISSUE!”

Dream and George jumped apart, George flying backward and falling off his side of the bed with a small shriek, while Dream merely sat up, hands over his chest in surprise. Sapnap had burst into the room, slamming the door behind him, his face was flushed and he looked _very_ nervous. But that quickly changed as he assessed the situation he was currently in. The anxious look twisted into a smirk.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t realize I was……interrupting something.”

George peeked his head over the bed to glare at Sapnap, trying to fight the blush that was spreading across his face like a wildfire. Had that really just happened!?!? Would Dream have actually kissed him?!

“No, nothing was going on, what’s your issue?” Dream nervously ran his hand through his hair, a blush painted across his face.

“Were you two about to kiss?”

Both of them screamed no, to which Sapnap, still smirking, raised his hands in the air as surrender. 

“I-no. We weren’t - I don’t even like - why would you think….” George trailed off into silence before adding, “We don’t like each other.”

“Alright, alright, sure,” Sapnap said, sitting next to dream on the bed, “I’m _suuuuuuuure_ you don’t.”

Dream crossed his arms, pouting as he knowingly said, “If we like each other then you have a crush on Karl.”

Sapnap then burst out laughing, tumbling off the bed and onto the floor, hugging his stomach. He managed to get out, “So, _funny story_.” More laughter, “Th-that’s kinda the issue I wanted to talk about,” Sapnap said, still recovering from his laughing fit.

_“Karl?”_

“Karl.”

Dream waited for about 5 seconds before jumping in with the, “........I told you so.”

“Wha- no!” Sapnap grabbed a pillow and began to hit Dream who was shielding himself with his hands, laughing. 

“Alright Sapnap, calm down, stop hitting Dream.”

“Yeah, sure, picking your boyfriend over your best friend, I see how it is.”

“He’s not my.....nevermind,” George said with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, “If we’re gonna talk about anyone’s boyfriend, we’re gonna talk about yours.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, not yet.”

“Oh _wow_ , we’re already throwing in the "not yet", this is exciting.” Dream leaned forward with fake interest.

“Oh fuck off.” Sapnap threw a weak punch at Dream, who easily dodged. 

They sat in silence for a good 10 seconds before Dream said, “Soooo......you gonna tell us what happened?”

Sapnap seemed to snap back to reality, “Oh, yeah, I came here for a reason other than to tease you guys about how oblivious you are, right, so what happened was-”

He was cut off by Eret poking his head into the room.

“Time for breakfast, and please come fast, Tommy and Wilbur are-” Crash. Shatter. Bang. Scream. Eret turned and ran back to the kitchen. All three idiots looked at each other, then the door, then each other. Sapnap was the first to move after Karl screamed his name, telling him to get downstairs fast. Standing up and walking to the door Sapnap said, “You two get dressed fast, we’re going skiing later by the way. Kiss as much as you want, just be down in 5 minutes, alright? And congrats on fucking finally realizing you like each other.” The exhaustion and exasperation in his voice were obvious. Then he closed the door. 

“Well, I'd more congratulate you and Karl, but to each their own I suppose,” George muttered, raising his eyebrows, causing Dream to chuckle. Both dressed in silence, which was deafening. There was a giant elephant in the room, which had been born 5 minutes prior to Sapnap's interruption and had not died since. Both wanted to discuss it, yet were waiting for the other to initiate conversation. As George walked up to the door opening it, he had an idea. 

Grabbing Dream who was ahead of him by his hand, he stopped him from walking any further. Moving to that he was facing Dream, he pushed himself onto his tiptoes and was just barely able to touch a kiss to his nose, quickly before the manic confidence left him. Then he walked off without a word. And he had to say, it felt good to be the one who left someone _else_ flustered for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we hit 20k words poggers!! i hate writing dialogue, maybe thats why i have no motivation to write them talking about it. idk, school is also just _dragging_ down on my creative energy, considering i actually have to go to bed at a decent time otherwise i feel like shit. i mean, i feel like shit no matter what, but....y'know. anywho, thanks for listening to me rant, pls leave a comment, i love reading them more than anything!!!<3


	13. secret boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its a longer chapter. sry its been forever since i updated. i am literally the worst at writing kissing scenes......AND ON THAT NOTE, enjoy the chapter!!!! by now u probably know what it is....... ;)

_26th of December_

The rest of the day had been the two skirting around each other while Sapnap overlooked the mess, judging and smirking. Though honestly, he couldn’t talk, he had the whole Karl situation, which he had also refused to share any more about. They had spent most of the day streaming, editing, eating, and skiing, with no time to talk as they were constantly surrounded by other people.

George did consider pulling Dream off to their room or to a bathroom and just kissing him to see his reaction. It was a very tempting thought but he was still too scared to act on it. Instead, he waited until he couldn’t put off the talking anymore; bedtime. Sapnap had, for the _third_ night in a row, not slept in their room, so they were all alone. 

The beginning had been them acting distant, just making small talk. It was the first time they had been alone since this morning and it showed. Whenever they would accidentally touch, both would jump away, blushing from ear to ear. George hated it. He hated the forced friendliness, he hated the fake courtesy, he hated the way they acted like they were new friends, as if they hadn’t known each other for years. As if they didn’t like each other. 

He knew that he was part of the problem too, his mind was on autopilot though, trying to keep him safe, the anxiety overriding any other emotion. And before he knew it, they were both in bed, the lights off, the soft glow of the moon seeping through the windows. And then he couldn’t avoid it anymore.

George sighed, and turned to face Dream, “We should talk.”

Dream turned too, so that he was looking at George instead of the ceiling, “Yeah, we probably should.”

“I’ll go first. Just listen and then we can talk about it, I-I just really need to get this out.” George sighed, “I like you and not platonically. I really, really like you. I have for a really long time and just didn’t know how to talk about it. I’m bisexual by the way. You make me feel.....I-I don’t even know how to describe it, kinda like I’m drowning but in honey or something. It feels like there are butterflies in my chest and they’ve all drank 15 cups of coffee. It feels like I’m falling but I don’t ever want to stop. What I’m trying to say is, I like you. And not like the stupid little crushes you get in middle school or whatever. I......I love you.”

Then there was silence, George presumed that Dream was processing his words. Either that or he had died. Either way, both situations made George’s anxiety not happy and the longer Dream was quiet the more worried he became. Then Dream giggled before saying, “Oh Sapnap’s gonna kill me!”

“Really!?!? I spill my heart out to you and that’s all you can think to say?!?!”

“No, I-” Dream broke down into a laughing fit, “You don’t know how long I-” He broke into a wheezing mess, and George couldn’t help but feel a little bit hurt. It must’ve shown on his face too cause Dream immediately stopped laughing and put on a serious, caring face. He then took George’s face into his hands. 

“I.....” His gaze shifted around, before settling on George’s eyes, his nerves much more obvious now, “I like you too. Well, it’s kinda more than that, like you said. I love you, Georgie, I just didn’t know if you did too.”

“You actually, like, reciprocate my feelings, as in you love me back, like this is not a prank or a joke or a horrible nightmare or something? I’m just making sure, you can never be too sure. You actually like me back?”

“Yeah I-I thought I made it pretty obvious.” Dream said with a nervous laugh.

_**“Obvious!?!?”** _

“Yeah, literally everyone else noticed.”

“Wait, _really?!?”_

“.....Yeah. Did you really have no idea?”

“No! I was almost positive you didn’t like me back until you kissed me the other day and then I, _y’know_ , kinda started to question it.”

“So the flirting, blushing, cuddling, everything didn’t give it away?”

George shook his head. 

“Wow, you are dumb.”

 **“Hey!”** George gently wacked Dream's arm. “You thought I didn’t like you back!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t make it obvious! I did!”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Did too!” Dream said, poking George’s stomach with one of his fingers.

“Did not!” George responded, poking right back.

It turned into an entire war, jabbing and poking each other whilst screaming, “Did too!” “Did not!”. They ended up almost wrestling, Dream resorting to tickling which caused George to tumble off the bed, pulling Dream down with him as he grabbed fistfuls of his hoodie.

Then Quackity yelled from the room next door, “Can you two _keep it down?_ I don’t care if you’re doing..... **stuff** , but please try to keep it quieter, I didn’t pack earplugs and I already have to deal with Sapnap and Karl! My patience is growing _very_ thin!

The two ended up sprawled on the floor, out of breath and giggling, completely forgetting what they were talking about in the first place. George moved so that his head was on Dream’s chest. He could hear his heart racing and feel the rise and fall of his chest. It made the whole situation seem so real. So human. Dream actually liked him back. George’s head was still definitely behind on processing that. 

“So.” George began drumming his fingers on the floor. He had no idea how to proceed, not really...

“Mhm.”

George screwed his eyes closed tight, it was a dumb idea, but he really wanted to do it. So he went for it, “Can.....can I kiss you?”

“I-well, alright, just go straight for it I guess,” Dream responded with a laugh, not giving George a yes or no answer. 

“No, I just - I don’t rea-”

“George it’s ok, I just like seeing you flustered.” Dream immediately reassured him. Dream began to sit up, leaning back on his arms to support himself. This caused George’s head to fall into his lap, and now he was staring straight into Dream’s eyes, and just below that his lips were twisted into a smirk.

Still blushing from the fact that Dream had said he liked it when George was flustered, George glanced down to Dream’s lips, “ _Soooooo_ , can I get that kiss?” 

“I-sure.” Dream laughed, raising his knees slightly to bring George closer. He leaned down until there was barely a gap between the two and their eyes were just barely open, waiting to see who would make the final move. George could see how nervous he was, he could see the anxiety and unsureness. Dream was still uncertain. So George decided to change that. He leaned up the tiniest bit and their lips were touching, slowly moving against each other. It felt so soft. It felt so safe. It felt so new while also feeling nostalgic, as if this had happened many times before. It felt like home. It felt _so_ **right**. 

George moved so that he was sitting parallel to Dream, lips still locked as he leaned in forward, wanting more. More Dream, more of this feeling, he was chasing this bliss, this pure happiness. This _love_. He was hungry, his kissing becoming more sloppy as he pushed further against Dream, relishing the feeling of his lips against George’s. He wanted this forever. 

Then Dream pulled away, his chest heaving. And George felt a sudden emptiness. Sure, George was winded too and probably needed to breathe, cause, y’know, he happened to still be alive, despite the fact that he was pretty sure kissing Dream was heaven. But he still wanted more. So as Dream pulled away, he whined, as any toddler who had gotten something they loved taken away from them would. 

Dream just laughed, trying to catch his breath, “Jeez George, I need to breathe. You’re so clingy.”

In response to this George simply pouted. “I’m not clingy, I just got to kiss the love of my life and my best friend for the first time. I think I’m allowed to want to kiss you forever.”

This left Dream smiling shyly and blushing, a sight that George didn’t get to see often. It made him want to kiss him even more.

“You’ve had enough time to breathe,” George decided before falling back against Dream’s lips, wrapping his arms around his neck, bringing himself even closer.

“Geor-” Dream was cut off by George’s lips and ended up just laughing into the kiss. 

George pulled away soon after, letting Dream breathe again because he _insisted_ on living for some reason. But because he was still craving affection and touch, he curled up against Dream, his hands now wrapped around Dream’s torso as he buried his head in Dream's hoodie, half sitting on his lap. 

“Georgie, if you want to cuddle, we should move to the bed.”

“Noooooooo, I’m comfy hereeeee.” George mumbled in response.

“Yeah, but the bed will be even more comfortable.”

“But I don’t _wanna_ move.”

“ _Fine_ , just be a little brat, I’ll carry you.”

And before George could react, Dream had lifted him up bridal style and plopped him down on the bed. George snuggled under the blankets as Dream laid down next to him. He immediately cuddled up next to Dream, burying his head in his chest and tangling their legs together. Just like this morning. 

“Hey Dream?”

“Yeah?”

“This morning, if Sapnap hadn’t burst in, would you have kissed me?”

“Probably.”

George hummed in response, exhaustion seeping into every corner of his body. But the anxiety kept him from sleeping just yet. 

“Hey Dream?”

“Mhm?”

“What do we do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, how do we tell our audience, are we dating, how do we announce that, how do we tell friends, I’m only out to you and Sapnap, how do I come out to everyone, will we get canceled, what if-”

“George.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re spiraling.”

“Oh, yeah......sorry.”

Dream ran his hand through George’s hair as he talked, “No, no, you have nothing to be sorry for, I just don’t want you to stress yourself out even more. And, I mean, _technically_ , we don’t _have_ to tell anyone.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Like we just keep it a secret. No one has to know. I could just be your secret boyfriend.”

Boyfriend? George could feel his heart speed up. Dream could be his boyfriend? Really? It felt so fast but so perfect and George wanted nothing more. Had he heard him right? Had he really said that? He would be Dream's _**boyfriend?**_

“....Boyfriend?”

George must have sounded unsure cause Dream’s face looked panicked and he rushed into an explanation of sorts, “I mean, if you’re ok with that, we don’t have to- I mean, I’m fine with whatever, I just thoug-”

George cut Dream off with a soft kiss on the lips before pulling away and burring his head back into his neck, nuzzling his nose against Dream slightly, like a cat. “I’d love nothing more than for you to be my secret boyfriend.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Dream hugged George close and Geroge planted several soft kisses on Dream’s neck, before pulling away and slipping into dreamland. He was able to get out a small, “Goodnight Dream, I love you.”

He heard a soft response, almost far away, “Goodnight Georgie, I love you too.” And then a soft kiss on his forehead. He was filled with one emotion; happiness. And one thought; his love for his best friend, his _boyfriend_. And the thought of that had the biggest smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooooo, how did you like the chapter where THEY FINALLY FUCKING TALKED? i'm not done it the fic yet, dont worry, there will be more after this!!! mainly because i just want to write a bunch of dnf fluff. so pls leave a comment if there's anything in particular u want to see or u can just yell at me, i love the comments, i live for reading them!!<3
> 
> P.S. ALSO WE SAW DOLPHINS THIS WEEKEND AND OMFG THEY ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!


	14. tommy time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so dream released a song AND a manhunt since i last updated. i-
> 
> im sorry

_27th of December_

He didn’t remember falling onto the floor. But yet he still woke up with the side of his face pressed against the smooth wood, a big fluffy blanket on top of him. It was surprisingly comfy, though not as nice as Dream’s embrace, which he was relatively sure he had fallen asleep in, so the floor really was a downgrade. 

He couldn’t be that upset though, the thought that he now had a boyfriend was already flying across his mind the second he awoke. It made him want to squeal and run around and curl up into a little ball of happiness. But instead, he decided to focus on the soft music that he could barely hear through the thick blanket that covered his head. After a long session of debating whether or not to get up, he dragged himself into a sitting position, deciding that he would much rather look at Dream’s face than at the floor. 

And he hadn’t made a mistake, as soon as Dream had heard him rustling to get up he had turned to look at him with the softest smile on his face. George’s heart couldn’t take it. Dream was sat on the bed with a blanket pulled around him, playing on his phone. The sunlight lit up his face and his hair and eyes sparkled in it. George literally felt crushed by the weight of his love for this man. He just wanted to kiss him. Wait………HE COULD KISS HIM!!! That little thought, that little reminder, just the fact that Dream was his, must have lit up his whole face as Dream let out a small giggle.

“You’re so fucking cute George.”

And then George lept off of the floor and pulled Dream into a kiss by grabbing his hoodie. He finally had an outlet for the love that he felt for Dream, kissing him!! So they kissed, Dream slowly pulling George on top of him, wrapping the blanket around him as their lips moved in unison.

“Hey, guys can yo- HOLY SHIT MY EYES!! OH, THEY BURN!!! WHAT THE ACTUAL **FUCK** IS GOING ON IN HERE?!?!?!”

“NOTHING TOMMY, YOU EVER HEARD OF THIS THING CALLED KNOCKING THOUGH!?!?” Dream said, hurriedly pushed George off of him and scooched to the other side of the bed, both of their faces lit up with embarrassment and surprise. 

“WELL HOW THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU TWO WERE MAKING OUT OR WHATEVER, YOU DIDN’T EXACTLY PUT UP A FUCKING WARNING SIGN?!?”

“Wh-why the fuck would we put up a warning sign?” George stuttered out, still an embarrassed mess.

“It seems like a bit of a necessity so that poor people like me don’t need to burn their fucking eyeballs and shit.”

Dream seemed to regain some of his confidence and took charge of the whole, uh, _situation_. Which George was very grateful for as he wanted to just melt into the ground right now. “Tommy, that seems a bit dramatic.” 

“You tell that to my eyeballs, they’re the ones who need the apology.”

Dream rolled his eyes, “I’m _not_ apologizing to your eyeballs.”

“Ugh, Americans, am I right George, not that you would agree since you two were just smooching, _getting busy_.”

George groaned, putting his head in his hands, “Oh my fucking god Tommy, just leave.”

“You’re right, I should probably go tell Sapnap and every one the **good** news.”

George and Dream, remembering that they wanted to keep their relationship a secret from their friends, for the time being anyway, freaked.

“NONONONONONONONONONONONONO, TOMMY DON’T DO THAT!!!!”

Surprisingly, Tommy did a 180 on his heels and went to lean against the doorframe with a smirk, knowing he had full power over them. And it was very enraging to be looked upon as weak by a _16-year-old._

“You wanna make me a deal?”

Sitting on the bed in defeat, Dream sighed, “Why does this feel like it’s gonna stab me in the back?”

“I mean I just wanna go ice skating.”

“Isn’t the reason Wilbur banned you from ice skating because you mentioned that ice skates were knife shoes and you could murder someone with them?”

“............Yes.”

“If I make a deal about ice skating with you, it would _literally_ stab me in the back.”

“Well, not you _specifically_ , just someone, y’know, more generally, possibly Quackity or Techno, or Will, a nice stab in the back would do him some good, it'd give him another breathing hole too.”

Dream shook his head, “That’s not how breathin- nevermind. So you wanna make a deal, what exactly, and does it have to be ice skating?”

“Yes, it has to be ice skating, I have to beat Tubbo in something.”

Dream and George must’ve looked confused as Tommy sighed and jumped into an explanation.

“So before I was told to go up here to get you guys to come down to breakfast and then walked in on some, ah, _questionable_ stuff, I was bickering with Tubbo about who has more talents. And Tubbo is better than me in most, if not all, winter sports. So of course, I need to redeem myself. Ice skating is the only one neither of us has tried. So I need to at least _try_ to beat him in that. But I can’t because Wilbur banned me. So if you can convince Wilbur to unban me from ice skating and get us to go ice skating before the trip ends, I’ll keep your, um, _secret_ , for as long as you want.”

“So…blackmail?”

“Think of it more as a compromise, a deal between friends. We’re friends, aren’t we Big D?”

“Mmh, sure.” Dream sighed. “Alright, I’ll convince Wilbur to drop the ice skating ban somehow, and make sure you and Tubbo can go ice skating before the end of the trip. And in return you will keep secret anything that you, uh, _saw_ , and the fact that we are dating.”

“YOU GUYS ARE DATING TOO????”

“Shout it a little louder, I don’t think Australia and New Zealand heard you,” George muttered sarcastically.

“Oh, Australians.” Tommy pulled a face of pure anger and disgust, looking ready to share his opinion with the world. “Those motherfuckers.”

“Can you go be angry at Australians downstairs please?” Dream asked.

“Yes, goodbye, also by the way the secret-keeping does not apply when the three of us happen to all be alone, I’m going to tease the fuck out of you two. Also, come down for breakfast soon. Also, I recommend getting dressed. Also-”

“Also, you should go downstairs, Tommy.”

“Right, - OH TUBBOOOOOOOOOO, WHERE ARE YOU, I HAVE SOME _EXCITING_ NEWS!!!!”

Dream sighed and flopping back on the bed, “I swear, every time I talk to him I lose brain cells at an alarming rate.”

“Well that shouldn’t be possible, I don’t think you can go into negative brain cells Dream.”

“If any has negative brain cells, it’s you Georgie.”

“Oh shut up.”

“Make me~.”

“I would but the doors open.”

Dream looked very disappointed by this so George laughed and gave him a quick kiss before moving to go get dressed, grabbing one of Dream’s hoodies, some jeans and underwear before walking into the bathroom.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

George was walking down the stairs and everything felt wrong. Dream and him had discussed what they were gonna do to pull the whole “not dating thing off.” What they had decided on was just acting like they had before..........well, _before they were dating_. So normal for them. Of course, George’s stupid head had seen this as the perfect time to forget how to do anything and everything. Which was really just so fucking brilliant.

Walking towards the kitchen, well he wasn’t really walking properly, he was just putting one foot in front of the other in an uneven pattern cause he couldn’t figure out how the fuck to walk. Not the point. George had this excitement in his stomach, from lying to his friends. Though honestly, this should not give him the rush of the adrenaline it did. 

Nobody (except a very smirky Tommy) seemed to notice the glances that Dream and George exchanged as they walked into the kitchen, Dream grabbing George’s hand to squeeze it reassuringly. And, _surprise, surprise,_ George still blushed. This pink aliment wasn’t going to go away just because he had started a relationship apparently. Well, neither had the fluttering in his heart to be fair. 

Sitting down at the table to eat MORE leftovers (like seriously, they had made so much food it was insane), George heard snippets of an argument between Bad and Skeppy ( _surprise, surprise_ ). 

“Another divorce I see.” Dream remarked

“I swear it's like the third one this week or something. I think I might need to remind them that arguing is not a good way to show someone your love for them.” Ant answered.

George merely hummed in response, busy stuffing his face with food.

“So we got any plans today?” Fundy asked.

“Surprisingly no,” Eret said as he reached across George to grab a cup for orange juice.

Phil spoke up, “Anyone have anything they would like to do?”

“I would like to go on a hike today,” Niki said.

“I wouldn’t mind if we just hung here and vibed for a day, y’know?” Skeppy said, seemingly forgetting his argument with Bad as the two leaned against each other. 

“I kinda want to go ice skating.” Dream said through a mouth of chicken. At the sound of this Tommy and Tubbo dropped their forks to excitedly exclaim,

“OH YES BEST IDEA BEST IDEA DREAM BRILLIANT OMG YES.” 

“PURE EXCELLENCE, 1000 IQ, SO FUCKING SMART, HOW COME WE DIDN’T THINK ABOUT THAT!”

Wilbur (and most other sane people) gave Tommy and Tubbo confused and concerned looks, which, like, fair.

“Right, well, Dream if you want to take certain, uh, _people_ ice skating, you have to pay for the funeral costs.”

Techno immediately snapped his head towards the conversation and blurted out, “I want a Viking funeral.”

“Ooh that sounds POG, I want a Viking funeral too.”

“Tommy you have to die in order to have a Viking funeral,” Tubbo said.

“Oh thank you for clearing that up Tubbo, I definitely did not already possess that information.” Tommy rolled his eyes. 

“And anyways Tommy, even if you were dead, you aren’t worthy of a Viking funeral,” Techno said, shrugging.

“I-aduhgbnif-I am **BEYOND OFFENDED** , how could- HOW COULD YOU INSULT MY **DIGNITY** LIKE THIS, I can’t even be in the same room as you!!” Tommy dramatically exited the room, shouting in his defense the entire way.

Phil then turned to Techno, “I’m so sorry about him, he’s going through somethings right now, y’know, _being a teenager and everything_.”

A pillow then came flying from the other room along with an angry Tommy. George could just sense a pillow fight brewing. 

“So it’s decided, I’ll take anyone who wants to go ice skating down to the rink and everyone else can make their owns plans, sound good?” Dream calmly said as pure chaos broke out around him. He then scooted over to George and gave him a peck on the cheek before wrapping his arm around him, knowing that no one was paying the slightest attention to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i rly love this chapter!! i cant wait to write the ice skating chapter, tho i might have to do a little bit of research, the last time i went ice skating was in 1st grade so its been a while. also i rly want to update more but ive just been rly busy and lacking motivation so updates will most likely be once a week now. dw i wont abandon this tho. pls leave comments they make my day and i adore reading them so much!!! <3


	15. ........stab stab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its a long one my friends. its also been 2 weeks since i updated this. LIFE AM I RIGHT!?!?!

_27th of December_

George liked wearing hoodies. Especially Dream’s hoodies. They were warm. And cozy. And safe. And they smelt like him. Anyways, George had stolen one of Dream’s black merch hoodies to wear for ice skating, which Sapnap must have found very interesting as he made his way towards George instead of helping clean up the living room _LIKE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO._

“Soooooooooo Georgie.”

“What do you want Sap, I’m trying to put on my boots.” 

“I can see that.”

“Oh good for you,” George said sarcastically. 

Sapnap sighed, “You’re wearing Dream’s hoodie.”

“Excellent observation,” George responded, trying to keep his calm because if this had to do with Dream, he needed to be prepared to lie. 

“And, if I remember correctly, the last time I walked into a room when you two were alone you were, y’know, about to kiss or something. So like, is there something you want to tell me?”

George could feel his heart racing, this was exhilarating and terrifying, “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no?”

“George. Stop lying.”

“I’m literally not though?”

“You’re very bad at lying.”

“I’m not!” George could feel panic creeping up his throat as he faked fake anger, which was quite hard to do.

“Fine, keep your secrets. See if I care.” Sapnap threw his hands into the air and began to dramatically walk away.

George sighed, thinking up a quick story that he could tell to help this seem more real, “Alright fine. Something did happen.”

Sapnap’s head immediately snapped back towards his voice and he moved to sit down next to George, wiggling his eyebrows, “Ooooh gossip.”

George groaned, “Oh my god, Sapnap stop.”

“Sorry. Is this serious?”

“Sort of. So you remember Eret’s bet, the one where Dream and I had to cuddle while we watched movies?” George had his fingers crossed in his head, praying that this would work. 

Sapnap nodded his head. 

“So after that Dream brought me back to our room, we both went to sleep. And when I woke up-” George let out what he hoped was a believable sigh “- _we were cuddling_.”

“Wait really?!” Sapnap looked slightly surprised and interested so George continued the story. It wasn’t fake, so he wasn’t _technically_ lying. 

“Yes. And it keeps happening. Every night. _Every single fucking night_.” George was actually enjoying this, he was starting to get into character, turning his voice more annoyed and frustrated, but also hopeful, “And I don’t know whether I just happen to curl up next to him while I’m asleep, but it’s complicating everything because I still don’t know whether or not he likes me back so it’s just kinda awkward and-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, alright slow down. You _still_ don’t think he likes you? After all this?” At this George really had to restrain a laugh.

“.......Yes.”

Sapnap looked tired, disappointed, and frustrated, “Georgie, honey, _come on_.” 

“Sapnap darling-” George paused to create effect “- _**Karl**_.”

This seemed to send Sapnap off, “You shut up, we’re talking about your love life, not mine. Anyways, he _definitely_ likes you back. Don’t know how to tell you this but he does.”

“Yeah but what if he doesn’t.”

“Yeah, but he does.”

“But what if he _doesn’t_.” George once again had to bite his lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

“But he _does_.”

“But what if h-”

Sapnap cut him off, “You’re missing the point. You start cuddling every night, it’s literally fate. If you don’t ask him out or confess to him before the trip ends I’m gonna explode or something _I swear to god_.” Sapnap took a deep breath and closed his eyes, making George almost tell him the secret, then he noticed Dream walking over to them looking worried. 

George nudged Sapnap, “Alright stop talking, he’s coming over here.”

Sapnap stood up and stretched his hands over his head before ruffling George’s hair, “Goodbye and don’t be an idiot.”

George smiled, happy the interaction was over, “No guarantees.”

Spanpa sighed before walking away. Dream slowly walked up to him and sat down next to him, looking slightly worried.

“Everything good?”

George smiled, grabbing a beanie and putting it on, “Never been better. I love lying to my friends.”

Dream smiled and let out a small laugh, “I’ve never seen this side of you.”

“What, do you like it?” George said, raising his eyebrows jokingly.

“I don’t know. Is he getting suspicious?” he gestured at Sapnap. 

“Not sure. He just seems tired.”

“I mean, he is spending every night in Karl’s room sooooooooo……”

“Don’t assume anything. We have to be _good friends_ remember?” George said in a joking voice.

Dream just punched him on the arm in response and stood up to go grab his boots from their room. George laughed to himself, enjoying this far too much. Though if that was going to be every interaction, it was gonna be stressful. He made a mental note to talk to Dream about telling everyone before the trip ended, mainly so that Sapnap wouldn’t die or something. 

“Are you sure you’ll be warm enough in that?”

George looked up to see Tubbo, putting on his jacket and gloves, also preparing for ice skating fun. 

“I’m wearing a sweater underneath it, so I should be good. Besides, it’s a fleece hoodie and it can’t be that cold outside.”

Tubbo looked him dead in the eye and said, “Never, _ever_ , underestimate the power of cold water.”

George just chuckled, assuming it was the end of the conversation. What Tubbo said next shocked him slightly though.

“So,” Tubbo said, raising his eyebrows, “You and Dream huh?”

“Wha-, **no**!!” George sat straight up, how did he know?!?!

“It’s ok,” Tubbo said, gesturing with his hands, “Tommy told me, I’ll keep the secret.”

Dream and Tommy happened to choose this moment to enter the room, “Tommy told you!?!” 

Tommy had the face of someone who was caught in the act of murder, “I-look guys, _**guys**_ , I can’t keep secrets from Tubbo, he’s my man!”

“Yeah! I’m his _man_.”

Dream just sighed and shook his head. “Did you tell anyone else?”

“No………maybe…………… _yesitoldranboo_!”

“Tomathy!” Dream said, giving him a gentle wack on the arm.

Tubbo stood up, waving his hands around, “Alright calm down everyone. There’s no need to use Tommy’s real name!”

“Wha- that is not my real name!! THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!!”

“What’s absolute bullshit?” Quackity asked. 

“NOTHING.”

“Are you sure about that?” Karl popped his head into the mudroom. Everyone nodded in response. “Right………… I’m gonna go grab Wilbur and then we can go, sound good?”

Once again, all four nodded and then burst into quiet giggles as they went outside, waiting for Quackity, Wilbur, and Karl to get ready. In this time, Tommy and Tubbo discovered that the snow was crunchy and were running around saying, “CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.”

“What on earth are they doing?” Wilbur said, joining the group outside. 

“The snow has a thin layer of ice on it which makes it crunchy.” Dream answered.

Wilbur then began to smile, “So…theoretically, of course………if someone were to run across the driveway they would slip and fall?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, that’s _fun_.”

Tommy then noticed Wilbur’s presence and yelled, “HEY WILBUR THE SNOW IS FUCKING CRUNCHY!!!”

Wilbur now had an evil grin, “DiD yOu JuSt CaLl Me WiLbY?!?!”

George let out a loud sigh, “Wilbur **w h y**?”

Wilbur just shrugged, “It’s funny.”

“I DID NOT CALL YOU WILBY YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH I HOPE YOU DIE A LONG AND HORRIBLE DEATH, YOU ABSOLUTE DICKHEAD!!!” 

“WHY DONT YOU COME OVER HERE AND KILL ME YOURSELF!?!”

“MAYBE I WILL!!”

Tommy formed a snowball in his hand and began to run towards Wilbur. Right before he released the snowball he hit the driveway and began to slip and lose his balance. The snowball flew out of his hand and as he fell onto the driveway the snowball hit him on the head. And all you could hear were Wilbur’s manic laughs along with everyone else’s giggles.

“Are-” Tubbo tried to get out between snickers, “-are you ok?”

“I’m fine, the only thing that’s wounded is my FUCKING DIGNITY AND I’LL GET YOU BACK JUST YOU WATCH. I’LL DESTROY YOU AT ICE SKATING.”

Tommy then began to storm off, dragging a laughing Tubbo in tow.

“The rink is the other way Tommy,” Karl yelled, as he and Quackity had joined them outside. Tommy did a u-turn and began walking the other way, the snow crunching under his feet. Wilbur, Dream, George, Quackity, and Karl trailed behind the two teenagers. Thankfully the whole Tommy thing seemed to have distracted everyone from the situation that happened inside. That had been a close call though. Now all George had to worry about was making sure that Tommy didn’t kill anyone. George seemed to be doing a very bad job at that though, considering Tommy was now attacking a tree viciously. 

George shook his head and without thinking, melted into Dream’s side. The other man wrapped his arm around him, shielding him from the majority of the wind. They stayed like this for most of the walk to the rink, George not even noticing it as he talked to Karl about the best New Year traditions. It was brought to his attention though when he nuzzled closer to Dream and got an eyebrow raise from Karl. Of course, he quickly pulled himself out of Dream’s embrace, blushing. Karl didn’t seem to question it any further though, thank god.

And then they were at the rink, getting their skates, Karl and Quackity trying to figure out their European shoe sizes whilst Tommy’s eyes shown with excitement of wearing knife shoes. The rink was outdoors, but there was a little sheltered area that had cozy fires and soft music playing. And also a little stall with hot chocolate and cookies. That was the main thing that George was excited about. 

Somehow Tommy and Tubbo had been able to put their skates on faster than anyone else as they were almost immediately waddling over to the rink and beginning to glide across it. That was until Tubbo fell and Tommy threw his fist into the air, apparently seeing this as a win. Quackity and Karl were the next ones on the rink, gripping each other’s arms as they wobbled and tipped, surprisingly not falling down. Once they were on the rink though, it was tumble after tumble as they tried to figure out over to move around on the slippery and cold ice. 

Wilbur sat on the bench, slowly and carefully lacing his skates, then laughing as he walked over to the rink and began to glide, wobbling a few times but managing to stay upright. This pissed Tommy off as he was gripping to the side rail to stay upright.

“FUCKING SHOW OFF!!!”

“NOT MY FAULT I’M BETTER THAN YOU CHILD!!”

Dream snickered at this, standing up and trying to get used to walking around while George tried to figure out his skates because they just didn’t feel right.

“So Georgie, have you ever ice skated before?”

“Yeah, a few times, it’s been a while though so I’m gonna be rusty. What about you, ever gone ice skating in Flordia?”

“Uh, once, at an indoor rink for a birthday party when I was 10 or something. I’ve roller skated several times before though, does that count?”

George laughed, finally done lacing his skates, “Whatever. Do you want me to teach you?”

“Sure. If we both die though, it’s your fault.”

“Not if Tommy kills us.”

“I really don’t think the blades on these are sharp enough to break skin.”

“It’s Tommy though, you can never be too safe.”

“GUYS STOP FLIRTING AND START FUCKING SKATING!” Quackity screamed and then fell over.

“YEAH DREAM!” Tommy yelled back, also promptly falling over, causing Tubbo to yell, “12-13 to me!”

“THIS IS SO NOT POGGERS!!”

“We weren’t even actually flirting this time,” George said, stretching his legs out and taking the arm that Dream offered him as they slowly made their way over to the rink. Once they were on the ice, George glided around a bit, just getting used to the feeling of being back on the ice. Surprisingly, it came back to him quickly.

“Alright Dream, step onto the rink.”

Dream carefully shuffled onto the rink and immediately began slipping around, throwing his arms out to balance himself. 

George immediately skated over to him, ready to support him if he needed it, “You good?”

“I have no idea.”

“Take my hand.” Dream slipped his hand into George's and **wow** it was cold. To be fair, it was like 1-2 degrees celsius sooooo, “Good, now unlock your knees.”

George began giving instructions to Dream, with no idea what he was doing, but Dream only fell once or twice so he seemed to be a decent teacher. Then Dream figured out how to glide and George was pulling Dream around the rink, spinning in circles and wobbling around, giggling and grinning their faces off.

Then Quackity and Karl went flying past them, screaming, as they didn’t know how to slow down and were heading straight for the railing. It must suck to be them, George thought. Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur were playing what George assumed was an ice skating version of tag. With a lot of falling over. And swearing. 

“Hey, Georgie.”

“Yeah?” 

“Race you to the other side!”

Dream then dropped George’s hand and began flying to the other side.

“YOU LITTLE CHEATING SHIT, GET BACK HERE, THAT’S NOT FAIR!!!”

George took off after him, knowing he wouldn’t catch up, but he could still fly at him with full speed. As George approached Dream, who had already reached the other side, he put his arms out and tackled him in a hug (of anger obviously).

Dream looked down at him, still laughing, “You happy?”

George looked into his eyes and said, “I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

Dream sarcastically said, “Wow, _cringe_ , so cheesy, why would you say that Georgie?”

“Oh shut up, you love it when I say stuff like that,” George said, bopping Dream on the nose.

“I like it better when you kiss me though.” Dream then smirked and skated off, which annoyed George because he really hated it when Dream was smug. Planning on going and tackling him again, George did a quick turn to go in the right direction and his ankle betrayed him. Pain shot up his leg, circling around his ankle like fire, causing him to drop to the ice.

“Ow, owie, ouch, whyyyyyyyyy.”

“George you’re so slo- are you ok!?!” Dream rushed over to him, looking very worried.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m, _**OW**_ , fine. Just, _**OW**_ , twisted my ankle I think.”

“Does it hurt?” George couldn’t deal with how concerned Dream looked, it was so cute.

“It’s not too bad, don’t worry,” George said softly.

“Let’s get you out of those skates. And then probably home so you can take a panadol and get an ice pack. Sound good?” 

George nodded, “Yeah, thanks Dream.”

Wilbur then skated over, “George, you good?”

“Twisted my ankle.”

“Ahhh, let us know if you need to go home soon.”

George merely nodded in response. Then Dream lifted George off the floor and helped him limp off the rink and over to one of the benches. Pain shot up from his ankle every time he put weight on it, but he tried not to make it too obvious. It wasn’t really that bad and he didn’t want Dream to worry too much, though he knew he would anyway. 

Dream carefully took George’s skates off and put his boots on loosely, the whole time murmuring reassurance and checking to make sure he wasn’t in too much pain.

“Sorry, does that hurt?”

“Dream, it’s just a twisted ankle. I’ve had worse.”

“Yeah but twisted ankles still hurt. I’m gonna go return the skates, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait,” George threw his arms out in front of him to stop him from leaving, “can you help me move to the couch-booth thing over there first, it’ll just be comfier.”

“Course darling.”

At then George broke out into a blush and smiled softly, letting Dream help him up and help him limp over to the table.

“You good here?”

George nodded, still blushing slightly. Dream bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before going to return the skates. George sighed, why did he have to twist his ankle, he was having so much fun. He did get a kiss though. The couch thing was much comfier, cushy, and warm. It had hanging Christmas lights above it and a wooden table in front of it. George began tracing the patterns on the table, the swirls and circles and lines of dark wood that cut through the lighter tones. 

He lost track of time until he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Dream holding out a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows and a chocolate chip cookie. George broke out into a smile, his heart burst with happiness at the fact that Dream had noticed his excitement by the little food stall.

“I thought we could, y’know,” he said, rubbing the back of his head flusteredly, “Share a little snack and let your ankle rest before we head back. As long as you’re not in too much pain.”

George, unable to contain his happiness and love, sprung up to kiss Dream, not caring who saw. He almost made the hot chocolate spill. George pulled away, still grinning while Dream laughed shyly, blushing and flustered. He sat down next to George and George immediately leaned into him, looking up into his eyes.

“I’ve never seen this shy side of you before, baby. It’s really cute.” And yes, George did throw the pet name out there just to see Dreams reaction. And the reaction was brilliant, a blush spreading all across his face as he brought his knees up to his chest to hide his face. 

“You ok with being called baby?” George asked, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He heard the muffled murmur of a response from Dream’s hidden face.

“You sure?”

“Mhm.” Dream turned his face so that he was looking back at George, their eyes meeting.

“Alright then baby.”

This caused Dream to hide his face again, as a bright red blush overtook his face once more.

“Awwww, Dream.”

He just heard muffled murmurs, not comprehendible in the slightest.

“Dream you have to drink your hot cocoa before it gets cold.”

Dream sighed, bringing his head up and letting his knees fall back into criss-cross applesauce. George couldn’t help but stare at him as he grabbed and took a sip of the hot chocolate, leaving a chocolate mustache above his mouth. Dream noticed this.

“You’re staring Georgie.”

“How can I not, you’re just so _pretty_.”

This made Dream smile sheepishly, which just made him even more adorable. George just wanted to pinch his cheeks and kiss him senseless. He settled for a quick little kiss on the forehead before grabbing his hot chocolate and snuggling down next to him. 

“George if you keep kissing me when our friends are around, not that I’m complaining in the slightest, but you’re gonna get us caught eventually.”

“Eh, it’s fine, they’re not paying any attention to us.”

Which was true, they all seemed very busy, Quackity and Karl repeatedly falling, while Wilbur did everything in his power to annoy Tommy and Tubbo. The whole scene was very funny to watch, especially since there were a few other people on the rink now. They didn’t seem to mind too much though.

For a good 5-10 minutes, the two just sat there, enjoying being alive, enjoying each other’s company and warmth. Enjoying the fact that they were both here, just existing together. Which was something George really liked about their whole dynamic. Whenever George was around Dream, he never felt pressured to start or carry a conversation. He never felt pressure to say the right thing. The only anxiety he ever really got around Dream was love-related. And now he didn’t have to worry about that much. He no longer had the question hanging over his head, what if he likes me back, what if he doesn’t, I’m gonna be sad and alone forever. Now he felt at peace. He felt happy. It was a very nice feeling. 

He could feel himself drifting off to sleep, so happy and warm and safe. Then Tommy’s voice broke through the barrier and he sat up feeling very disoriented. Tubbo, Tommy, and Wilbur seemed to have decided to stop skating since they were putting their skates back and walking over to the little store to get something to eat. George yawned, stretching his arms above his head before scooting away from Dream, knowing that it might look suspicious or strange if the two were just cuddling. He immediately missed the warmth though, despite the hot chocolate in his hands.

The trio began walking towards them, bickering about something. Wilbur and Tubbo were eating cookies while Tommy waved his drink around, obviously stressing Wilbur out because it kept almost spilling. As soon as they reached the table, Tommy stood up on one of the chairs and looked at Wilbur. Then he began making strange noises. 

“Tommy, what the GENUINE FUCK are you doing?” Wilbur looked just as confused as everyone else. 

“I’m asserting dominance over you by making whale noises, bitch.”

“I- _ok!?!?!_ ” Wilbur was still very confused, as was everyone else.

Tommy seemed to be happy with that though and plopped himself down in his chair, taking long sips from his drink. Wilbur, shaking his head, sat down next to Dream on the bench, while Tubbo, who was shaking with laughter, sat down on the second chair next to Tommy.

Tommy randomly blurted out, “Man, arson is fucking awesome.”

“Yeah arson is really cool, so is just burning things in general.”

Wilbur immediately shook his head, firmly saying, “NO.”

Dream took this movement to jump in and redirect the conversation aways from arson, as one does, “So on a different note, who won the ice skating contest?”

“ME!”

“Wilbur you weren’t even a part of it,” Tommy complained.

“But I still did better than both of you. Combined.”

“That’s not fair though Wilbur.”

“ThAt’S nOt FaIr WiLbY!! ThAt’S nOt FuCkInG fAiR!!” Wilbur did a very poor impression of Tommy’s voice. 

“It’s really not fucking funny. My ass hurts now because I fell on the driveway.”

“Are you sure it’s not because of how many times you fell while ice skating? I honestly think it might be a world record.”

“Oh shut your fucking face you dickhead.”

Quackity then came running over, his skates also gone, “CAN WE PLEASE GO HOME I AM SO FUCKING COLD!!”

Karl walked over too, shaking his head, “I told you to take an extra jacket or to take the one I’m wearing right now.”

“But then you’ll be cold Karl.”

“Oh yeah.”

Dream chugged the rest of his hot cocoa, “Sure, we can go home.”

George’s ankle was still hurting though, “How-how am I gonna get back? I don’t really think I can walk.”

“I can carry you,” Dream said, as if this was obvious.

“Fuck yeah, Dream can carry you!! He’s so strong, oh George I envy you so much.”

“Oh shut up Quackity.”

Everyone gathered their stuff, drank the last of their drinks and returned the mugs. George was now holding onto Dream for dear life, terror coursing through his veins. Dream was giving him a piggyback ride, and while he knew he wouldn’t drop him, it was still terrifying. How Dream was able to carry George and walk back home and carry a conversation was beyond him. But he managed to do it. And George just sat there, scared and cold and in slight pain from his twisted ankle. He couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the conversation as his head had decided that he needed more sleep and he had to fight off the urge to just nuzzle his head into Dream’s neck and sleep.

But they were almost there, they were almost home. George could see the cabin. Home sweet home. He was going to miss this place when they left. It had so many memories attached to it. 

“Hey, George?”

“Yeah?

“Should I set you down outside the house or carry you to the living room?”

“I’m not sure we’ll fit through the door frame without me hitting my head. And I really don’t want another injury so just set me down here.”

Dream slowly lowered him down to the ground once they were outside the front door, immediately wrapping his arm around him to help him walk. 

“Wow, I can’t wait to go take a nap! Ice skating is really fucking exhausting,” Tommy said, yawning.

George agreed with him on that note. He was also looking forward to heating again. Dream reached forward to open the door. As soon as they could see inside, the words that came out of Tommy’s mouth summed up the whole situation pretty well.

_“WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i rly like this chapter, i had a lot of fun writing it. i just had trouble finding motivation. ADHD problems am i right? i also did very sloppy editing because there are only so many times you can reread something. cliff hanger too!!! 
> 
> pls leave a comment i adore reading them. also press the kudos button, it lets me know whether or not you like the fic!! :D thanks for reading, make sure you take care of urself, drink water, eat, sleep and remember that ur loved!! <3<3<3


	16. family meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so........tommy is dead....and alive......wow.....lore am i right?
> 
> btw if u dont know what rafters or trusses are, pls search them up, its slightly important to this chapter, i couldn't find the word for the thing im actually talking about but rafters seemed the closest so i went with that. :DD

George’s eyes were scared and _very_ confused. And overwhelmed. What they had walked in on was like a scene from a movie. And Ranboo was the kid that was hanging dramatically from the chandelier. Well, in this case, it was the rafter, but same difference. Wait, since when was Ranboo here!?!?!

That wasn’t the most surprising thing though. George really wished it was. It took a moment for him to realize that there were already two people in the mudroom, Bad and Skeppy. They didn’t seem to notice the group’s arrival and instead were continuing their very loud argument.

“WHY WOULD YOU MURDER SOMEONE THOUGH?!?!”

“Because why wouldn’t you?? Besides, that’s not the question, the question is how would you murder someone with a spatula.”

“I WOULDN’T MURDER SOMEONE!!! END OF STORY!!”

“No, you’re missing the point. If you had to, hypothetically, murder someone with a spatula, how would you do it?”

“I WOULDN’T MURDER SOMEONE, YOU MUFFINHEAD, MURDER IS BAD!!!”

“YEAH, NO SHIT IT’S BAD YOU GO TO FUCKNG JAIL!!”

“LANGUAGE SKEPPY!!”

“BUT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO IMAGINE, _HOW WOULD YOU MURDER SOMEONE_!?!?”

Bad took a deep breath before yelling, “BUT I WOULDN’T MURDER SOMEONE YOU ABSOLUTE MUFFINHEAD, _THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN TELLING YOU FOR THE PAST 15 MINUTES_!!”

“Hello, hate to interrupt this incredibly interesting debate, but what the fuck is that?” Wilbur said, gesturing to the situation. 

“First of all, language. Second of all, uhhhhh, we kinda played truth or dare, and then that happened, not sure why or who started it, I was a bit _busy_ arguing with this muffin head about why murder is bad.”

“I know that it’s bad, but I’m asking you how you would murder someone with a spatula.”

“I- you absolute- oh my gosh, I can’t.”

Antfrost then came running past the archway, being chased by Sapnap, and yelled, “JUST LIKE YOU CAN’T ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS FOR SKEPPY!!”

“ANT, LANGUAGE!!!”

“I LITERALLY DIDN’T EVEN FUCKING SWEAR!!”

“ANT!!! _LANGUAGE_!!”

Antfrost, laughing, was then tackled by a very angry Sapnap, which caused Skeppy and Bad to move their argument elsewhere and now the ice skating group could see the full horrors. Fundy, Niki, and Alyssa were soaked, dumping water on each other and running around screaming about....well nothing in particular, they were just screaming. Ant and Sapnap were still on the floor, "fighting". It was obvious that it was not meant to hurt the other, merely acting and being very dramatic. Eret was running around in her strawberry dress and wearing their crown, joining in on Fundy, Niki, and Alyssa's impromptu screaming session. Ranboo was sat on one of the rafters that was near the stairs, throwing glitter and confetti down on everybody and talking about how to kill god. Phil and Techno were having a picnic in the middle of all of this, yelling about the best ways to invest in stock while sipping water from wine glasses and eating pizza bites. And Callahan was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling while absent-mindedly playing with the piles of flour that were on the floor. 

Pure chaos. George could somehow hear Dream audibly sigh before letting out a sharp whistle and grabbing everyone's attention. "Family meeting. Living room. 2 minutes."

He then helped George limp into the kitchen to get an ice pack while the ice skating group took off their coats and boots and everyone else tried to hold Sapnap back from fighting Antfrost, who was dying of laughter on the floor. After a lot more arguing, a Tubbo, Ranboo, and Tommy hug, handing out several towels, and having Karl sit on Sapnap’s lap to stop him from fighting Ant, who he was now just glaring at, they _finally_ started the meeting. 

Dream plopped himself down on the couch right next to George, who was now feeling much better after getting a panadol and an ice pack. “So. What the fuck guys!?!?”

Several people burst into talking, “It’s Ant’s fault,” “We were playing truth or dare,” and Tommy’s “This is why you don’t leave adults unattended.” 

“Ok,” Deam took a deep breath in and muttered, “It’s like having a bunch of 6-year-olds,” before launching into talking, “I want to hear the story from Ant’s point of view, Sapnap’s, and Phil’s. Phil, you go first, as you are the eldest."

"Old man benefits am I right?"

“Not appreciated Tommy. Honestly though, I have no idea what happened. Techno and I were just having your typical adult sit down and then chaos.”

Fundy interjected this, “That's a complete lie, you helped Ranboo get up onto the rafters!!”

“I mean,” Techno said, “He kinda just teleported up there, and besides, Phil was the main person who helped him, so I wouldn't exactly add my name in there.”

Dream sighed, “Ok back up, Ranboo why are you here, I thought you couldn’t make it?”

“Oh yeah, uh, my mom changed her mind so I thought I might as well come and hang out for the last week.”

“Do you have a room yet?”

“Nah my stuff’s just sitting there, being lonely,” he said, gesturing to a suitcase and a backpack.

“Right, Tommy, Tubbo, you go help Ranboo get set up in your room since you have an extra bed, and then come back down here, and **NO GOSSIPING, ABOUT ANYTHING**.”

The three children snickered a bit before bursting into conversation and running up the stairs.

“Ant, explain this mess please.”

“Can you explain why you so badly don't want the children to gossip? Does Dream have a secret?~"

George's heart jumped into his throat at this, he prayed that Dream knew how to handle the situation. If not, he could always throw up, it was proven to be a great distraction.

"First of all, that is unimportant to the story. Second, fuck off."

"Awww, Dreamie's got a secret, we all kinda knew that didn't we though?"

Dream glared at Ant and then quickly glanced over to Geroge as if discreetly gesturing to him. Then George remembered, everyone here knew that Dream had a crush on George. And George couldn't help but think, had they been doing this pointing and teasing the whole time they were up here and he was just too dumb to notice? Surely not though, it was pretty obvious. He wasn't that stupid. Right?

"Alright, back to the story of chaos land. We got bored while you were gone and decided to play truth or dare. Boring stuff, typical and not much fun, only one other exciting thing happened and that was-”

Skeppy slapped his hand for Ant’s mouth and Bad glared at Ant, as Skeppy said, “What happened is not important to this story.”

The hand over mouth and glaring continued for about 30 seconds. But as soon as Skeppy uncovered his mouth, Ant blurted out, “They kissed.”

Then Skeppy hit him with a pillow and Bad yelled, “Language!!”

“IT WAS A DARE!!!”

Dream quickly jumped in before Skeppy could burst into a rant, “As Skeppy said, that is unimportant to the story, though we will talk about the Bad and Skeppy situation later.”

“IT WAS JUST A LITTLE KISS AND IT WAS A DARE!!!”

Ant giggled before continuing the story, “Suuuuuure. Anyways then we got to Sapnap and he chose dare but didn't want to do it and switch to truth so I asked him-”

Sapnap jumped in, “A question that is unimportant to the current situation.”

Ant sighed, “Fine. Jeez, you guys take all the fun out of everything. I asked him a question that is unimportant to the current situation and he refused to answer and then, uh, this happened.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Well, of course, he started wrestling with me and trying to tickle me, and then everyone else got in on the fun. Niki, Alyssa, and Fundy got into a water fight, Callahan just died while Eret tried to talk to me and Sapnap but eventually just gave up and started spinning around in circles and screaming. Bad and Skeppy were making out somewhere-”

“We were arguing.”

“-That's what they all say. And then Ranboo arrived and Phil and Techno helped him get up on the rafters so that he could throw confetti and glitter at us. Then the Old Man and Mr. Orphan Murderer decided they would just have a pizza picnic.”

“And this is why we don’t go out in small groups because the larger groups fucking descend into chaos.” Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo had returned. 

“I say we all clean up and then we need to eat lunch. So everybody needs to help clean and yes Tommy, that includes you, even though you didn't make the mess. Then we can all go shower and meet back down here to go to the lodge and eat lunch because I do not want to get the kitchen dirty again. Alright, go.”

Since George's ankle was still being a dick, he sat on the couch and watched everyone work and argue. It was about 30% working, 60% arguing, and 10% singing for some reason. He also talked Tommy out of putting peanut butter on Wilbur's pillow and had to listen to Quackity's version of "Baby Shark". For 10 minutes. He was definitely having nightmares tonight because that song was far from a nursery rhyme now. Then everybody clambered upstairs, going to take a shower. And it was just him and Dream in the living room.

Dream walked over to the couch and sat down next to George with a very soft smile on his face, “How’s your ankle feeling?”

“It’s alright, think I probably just sprained it.”

“Wow Georgie, that’s a very dramatic reaction to twisting your ankle.”

George just laughed, “What can I say, I’m a drama queen.”

“You overreact, that’s for sure. Anything else I can get for you before I go shower, baby?”

George blushed at the nickname, immediately looking around to make sure no one had overheard him, even though he knew there was no one else in the living room. “We seriously need to be more careful with the flirting, they’re gonna get suspicious.”

Dream rolled his eyes, “They’ll get suspicious if we don’t flirt, besides, I know you love it.” 

George blushed a little more, playfully shoving Dream, “Oh shut up.”

“Make me~.”

So George grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Because he could now. He pulled away after 3 seconds though, incredibly worried that someone was gonna walk in on them, as they might, y'know, _have a few questions_. 

“Dream, if you want a kiss, just ask.”

“Ok then. Can I have a kiss?”

“No! Not right now, people could walk in here any minute.”

“But Georgeeeee, they’re all in the shower, no one looking, please?”

George rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

He gave him one last quick kiss, “Now go shower.”

“I mean, you could always join me~.”

“DREAM. Go shower.”

“Ok, finnnnne.”

George sighed, he loved his annoying, goofy, adorable boyfriend. Holy shit, right, Dream was his boyfriend, it seemed so surreal still, even just remembering that fact put a big goofy grin on his face. Which is what Sapnap walked down to see.

“Why you grinning like that, Dream finally give you a smooch?”

George had a brief moment of freak out, what if Sapnap had seen them!?! But it was quickly replaced by the fact that Sapnap had phrased it as a question, not a statement.

“Wha- no Sapnap, he did not “give me a smooch,” why would he?”

“Oh my fucking god, not this again. Because he likes you George.”

“But he doesn’t.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to get this through your thick head, he likes you back. Duh. it’s so obvious. Come on George.”

“I still don’t think he likes me. Besides, if we’re gonna talk about crushes, we might as well talk about you and Karl and whatever question Ant asked you in truth or dare.”

“It was nothing and I never said the question involved Karl.”

“You literally started fighting him. I feel pretty safe making the assumption that it was about Karl.”

“I was being dramatic, I wasn’t actually hurting him in the slightest, it was just for fun.”

“Yeah but it must have at least bothered you a bit, cause you still did it. And you're not denying the Karl part.”

Sapnap sighed, “Fine, I’ll tell you. He asked me truth or dare and I said dare. The dare was to kiss Karl, which I said I wouldn’t do, for obvious reasons. Then I switched to truth and he said I had to answer it. The question was how long have you been in love with Karl. I didn’t want to answer it, so I started play-wrestling to get out of it.”

“Alright, but we have to ask the real question here.”

“Which is?”

“How long have you been in love with Karl?”

“George!”

“What? Tell me and I’ll tell you how long I’ve been in love with Dream.”

“Oh come on, you met him and you fell, his looks, his personality, his charisma, HIM.”

“I never saw his face and besides I think that was more of the you and Karl story.”

“Maybe……”

“Awww Sapnap, love at first sight.”

“Shut up, how long have you been in love with Dream?”

“5 years.”

“WHAT- I’m sorry, you’ve been in love with him for _**5 YEARS**_ and you still haven’t asked him out?”

“Yes. Obviously.”

“Oh my fucking God George, you are _beyond_ dumb.”

“You’ve literally been in love with Karl since you met him and now I’m the one who’s dumb?!?”

“Yep. Sorry not sorry. Right, I actually came down here to ask you a question about editing but I forgot it.”

“Oh is Sapnap finally gonna post on his youtube channel, I’m not surprised you need tips, how many times have you posted on there, like, twice?”

“Shut up, if I remember the question I’ll ask it to you.”

“You hate editing, why are you doing it now?”

“No reason.”

“....Is Karl editing too?”

“......Maybe?”

“Simpnap!!”

“I- no, I am not a simp!!”

“Sure. Alright, go edit your video with the love of your life, and if you have questions, ask him, boyfriend bonding time!!”

“We’re not dating.”

“I know but one can hope.”

“That’s literally what I do for you and Dream, just pray that you two gain a few brain cells.”

“That’s rude!!”

“It’s true though.” 

Then Sapnap disappeared up the stairs and George was alone again. But it was peaceful this time. He limp-walked over to the beanbag with minimal pain and snuggled down into it, remembering the first nap he took in it. He could feel his eyes fluttering shut. Sure, he'd been getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night but, boy he was chronically sleep-deprived, so another nap couldn’t hurt. He just wished Dream was there to cuddle with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate this chapter but i rly needed to get something out to you guys so that i could just get past my mf writers block. also im considering rewriting the fic, to some extent, because i kinda wanna go back and change some of the sutff in it, not major plot or anything, just wording of sentences and shit like that. i already began working on the next chapter and i have a pretty good idea about what'll be happening for the rest of the fic but pls give me ideas because it helps me soooo much. pls leave a comment and a kudos, they rly give me my motivation and they're so comforting too!! <33


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